After watching a never ending stream of posts about French Door Winery during their first year of production I couldn’t wait for an opportunity to visit. Especially after they closed so early in that first year because all of their wine sold out very quickly.
The winery definitely lived up to it’s reputation as a quality player with their tasting room about as good as it gets in tems of sophisticated luxury and refinement. The team are attentive and knowledgeable and our visit was first class. Most important,
Here is what we tasted.
2019 Héritage
Blend: Merlot 30% / Cabernet Franc 25% / Cabernet Sauvignon 25% / Syrah 11% / Petit Verdot 6% / Malbec 3%
Our rich yet soft Bordeaux blend is a combination of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Malbec. An intense nose of dried plums, blackcurrant and chocolate. Sweet tobacco, black cherry, and pepper on the palate, that finishes long with silky, round tannins.
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
This ripe and rich French blend has intense aromas of dried plums, blackcurrant and chocolate. There are notes of sweet tobacco, black cherries and pepper on the palate, and it finishes long with silky, round tannins.
Vineyard Notes
2019 was a cooler growing season which allowed for great acid retention and very delicate flavours. All bunches were exposed to sunlight post-fruit set by removing leaves to maximize ripeness. A green harvest was done just before veraison to lower crop levels and leave only the best clusters to reach maturity.
Production Notes
The grapes were hand-harvested and hand-sorted before being destemmed and placed in individual tanks where a 10-day cold soak took place. Three to four daily pump-overs were done during the fermentation process which occurred at 28 degrees Celsius. The grapes were on skins for 60 to 85 days and then racked directly to 40% new French oak and 60% secound and third-year French oak. The wine was left to undergo natural malolactic fermentation and was undisturbed for 14 months before being racked to tank and bottled.
Heavenly! Scents of very ripe fruits, blackberries, dark cherries, figs, Italian plums, jam and red candy with a hint of green pepper.
This wine is pleasantly spicy like black pepper with very good body and acidity, mellow with medium tannins. A most interesting wine.
$54.00 available online and at the winery
2020 Heritage
A blend of 41% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Syrah, 6% Malbec, and 5% Petit Verdot.
Vinification
All grapes were hand-harvested and sorted before being de-stemmed and gently crushed into tanks. They were cold-soaked for three to four days to extract colour and allow natural yeasts from the vineyard to develop unique flavours before we inoculated and proceeded with fermentation. Fermentation varied per varietal but it was an average of 45-52 days at 28 degrees Celsius with three pump-overs a day. Once fermentation was complete, extended maceration locked in the colour and tannins this wine is known for. The free run was drained directly into French oak barrels (40% new and 60% neutral), and the rest was pressed off the following day. Malolactic fermentation naturally took place in the cellar, with topping occurring monthly. The wine was aged for 14 months before being bottled.
Vineyard Notes
The French Door Estate vineyard has long days of sunshine and the Oliver wind in the afternoon cools the grapes until the sun goes behind Mount Kobau. We work hard to deliver precise viticulture to each block and varietal depending on the vine’s needs.
Flavour Profile
The 2020 vintage of our Heritage could be our most refined yet – with a brighter front palate of red fruits and herbs, followed by the mid-body carrying the richness of the barrels. With flavours of currant. cocoa and black cherry, the finish is long with balanced tannins and herbaceous intensity.
Currently a wine club exclusive. The 2020 is expected to become available shortly.
This vintage of the Heritage presents interesting scents. Hints of raspberries, a bit of floral and green grass.
The wine was fairly light with subdued tannins and a nice acidity.
2020 Merlot
Beautifully balanced with unique aromas of leather, dried dates and raspberries. Notes of blackberry, plum, vanilla and pepper on the palate (140 cases produced).
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
This Merlot dominates with rich leather and raspberry flavours, with notes of sage, red plum, vanilla cake and peppercorn. Dried purple fruit flavours are integrated into the tannins, giving a rich mouth-feel and a lengthy finish. This Merlot is a high quality example of Merlot’s capabilities on the Black Sage Bench.
Vineyard Notes
We have two blocks of Merlot, a North block and a South block. Both have significant leaf removal later in the season to develop the tannin structure components in the skins and help with ripening flavours. Green fruit is dropped and the fruit is hand-picked and sorted.
Production Notes
Like all of our wines, we pick the Merlot based off phenolic ripeness and flavour, using our sense rather than numbers alone. The Merlot was gently crushed and placed into our French oak vats (Tonneau) and cold soaked for three days before entering fermentation for about 21 days. The Merlot was left on skins at high temperatures for another week to develop tannins and mid-palate structure before the free run was drained directly into 35% new French oak barrels. It was aged in our cellar for 14 months, racked to tank and awaited bottling for another month.
Scents of ripe fruit, blackberry and jam. A deep rich colour in the glass.
Very fruit forward, ripe and juicy. Smoothly rich with easy tannins. A medium body wine.
$78.00 available online or at the winery
2020 Malbec
The 2020 is currently sold out and it is expected it will be replaced with the 2021 vintage shortly. The wine profile is for the 2021 vintage.
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
This Malbec is known for its intense, dark fuchsia shades. An earthy and spicy wine with green acidity and notes of red plum, raspberry, black currant, cherry, eucalyptus, black tea, nutmeg, date, and rose on the nose. A burst of juicy black cherry paired with sour raspberry, date, dill, saffron, and blueberry on the palate.
Vineyard Notes
2021 had a long autumn season with sporadic precipitation events that both helped yet hindered picking dates. This vintage was famously smokey and we mitigated these effects naturally. This was a challenging vintage due to a smaller crop, but smaller berries resulted in intense tannins.
Production Notes
After the Malbec was picked, pump-overs were done twice a day for 30 minutes under dry ice with one delestage. The ferment was kept at 30 degrees Celsius post-fermentation to build tannin structure and colour. The free-run juice was drained directly into barrels, mainly spicy Siruge toast barrels, and the pressed wine was put into neutral puncheons. The wine was aged for 14 months with one racking in July into more neutral barrels. The 140 cases produced are a selection of eight of our finest Malbec barrels.
An earthy and spicy Malbec with bold scents of red plum, raspberry, black currant, cherry, eucalyptus, black tea, and nutmeg. A burst of juicy black cherry on the palate paired with complimenting flavours of sour raspberry, date, dill, saffron, and blueberry. Only 140 cases produced.
This is a small-batch, unique, and expressive Malbec. Only 140 cases produced.
Scents of a mix of berries, raspberry with some cranberry, cooked cherries and cherry jam.
A pleasantly lighter texture with medium tannins and good acidity.
French Door Estate Winery
French Door Estate Winery is a family-owned and operated winery and vineyard. Founded in 2019, we are located on the beautiful Black Sage Bench, South of the town of Oliver.
This winery was established with a passion for quality wine. Our 10-acre property is planted with 100% vinifera vines on beautiful, expressive soils that have resulted in rich, lush, and character driven wines.
The goal of our winery is to create honest, low-intervention wine, from sustainably grown grapes, in a classic old-world French style. We believe it takes the best kind of grapes (no systemics, insecticides, herbicides or fungicides) to make the highest quality of wine, and to ensure that every bottle is a true expression of us, and our commitment to excellence.
Why the name “French Door Estate Winery ” you may ask? Well, our family was inspired by the simplicity and quality of French architecture, cuisine and wine during our travels to Provence. We believe the Okanagan valley has a similar uniqueness about it, and we wanted to bring these parallels to life through the way our wine is made and discussed.
Starting with our winemaker, Pascal Madevon, who integrates his French heritage into all of his wine creations. Our Rosé in particular resembles the elegance of Provence style Rosé; dry and richly textured, with a soft pink hue.
All of our wines are produced in our Barrel Room, which is where you can find our three Tonneau French oak vats and our French oak barrels. The Barrel Room as well at the Tasting Room, are white and bright with black accents to resemble the look and feel of a French farmhouse.
The symbol of the “French door” is representative of our aspiration to incorporate the traditional aesthetics and values of beautiful Provence into our own backyard, with a modern twist. Our tasting room is encircled by French doors, and each one opens up into a new experience. Whether the doors lead you into our breathtaking barrel room, or onto our one-of-a-kind patio that overlooks the Okanagan valley, you are welcomed by an unspeakable aura that has been created by using the best features of Provence and the Okanagan combined, and this can only be found at French Door Estate Winery.
Pascal is currently one of our Winemakers along with Bree Toor, information about them both can be found here. This year we have released three wine club exclusives for the first time, which are the 2022 Viognier, the 2021 Syrah and the 2021 Cabernet Franc, which can all be found on our website.
Wine Profiles courtesy of the winery. My notes (in italics). Our tasting for two people was complimentary. Previously I had received a bottle of the 2019 Heritage for review.
