Hillside Estate Pinotage
Hillside Estate Pinotage
Vintage: 2007
Region: Naramata Bench, British Columbia, Canada
Varietal: Pinotage
Price: $34.95
When friends invite you to give some boutique wines a try, it goes without saying that you’ll want to make the effort. Mark Bata from Christopher Stewart Wines got in touch with Reading for New Times to try some of Hillside Estates wines at The Cellar last week. I didn’t know too much about the winery other than they were based on the Naramata Bench near Penticton, British Columbia. Our tour of the wines was guided by Lisa Baxter, Marketing Manager for Hillside Estate who talked the group of 30 through 7 tastes of their latest offerings.
For the most part, I usually find Canadian white wines to be a touch more expressive than the reds. Heading into this tasting, I fully expected the same and I must say there were some wonderful whites presented. I was particularly fascinated by the 2007 Muscat Ottonel with its beautifully fragrant nose of orange blossoms. It was perfectly balanced and ready to be served chilled on a patio with thick slabs of sashimi. Despite this gem, the wine of the night for this writer wasn’t a white but was a red and Ms. Baxter saved it until the end.
The 2007 Pinotage was the last of wines tasted and it did not disappoint. I think Canadian red wines sometimes have a tendency to be a bit on the thin side but this Pinotage was an exception. On the nose, there were notes of fruit, earth, tobacco, and game. I could be nuts but there was some teriyaki beef jerky. In the mouth, this wine displayed cherries and cocoa with a full mouth feel with seamlessly, integrated tannins. The finish on this wine was long and memorable. We enjoyed this wine with rich cheeses and morsels of baguette and it complimented the food perfectly. If I had a qualm, it would be with this wine’s price but coming in at paltry 534 cases produced, I can understand where Hillside Estates is coming from. This wine is in my top 10 Canadian wines, so seek it out at your next market visit.
90 Points
- Hillside Estate Pinotage
- by Adrian Bryksa
- Published on June 3rd, 2009
- Photos:
- Penticton Okanagan British Columbia Canada
- Rating:
- 90 Points
More from Adrian Bryksa:
-
Zimmermann Rosshimmel Riesling
As I continued to sip, the terroir to which the grapes were grown continued to shine through with those much desired flint, rock and mineral aspects pouring through.
-
Against Me! interview with Tom Gabel
Preceding their latest tour stop in Calgary, I had a chance to sit down with Against Me! frontman Tom Gabel to talk about the tour, the past, the present and the future and also had a chance to spin a few miscellaneous questions in as well.
-
Le Volte
Le Volte holds distinction as it is aged in the same oak barriques that previously housed previous vintages of their flagship Ornellaia and Masseto blends.
-
Six Stops in London
We visited some of the best museums, saw some of the landmarks and spent a day in one of the most historic and beautiful cities in the world. We could have easily spent a week exploring and discovering, but felt pretty good with what we had seen and where we had been. It was without a doubt, one good day.
-
Book Review: Stop Working
So, what would you do if you didn’t have to work? Most people I talk to say that they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. This is the challenge that Derek Foster puts to the readers of his book Stop Working: Here’s How You Can.
-
Wyndham Estates Show Reserve Cabernet Merlot
Do rewards come to those that wait? I have had this wine in my cellar for a few years and Sunday was going to be its day of reckoning.
Other recent features:
-
Sónar 2010 – Barcelona, Spain
The festival attracts a lot of outsiders, but the Mediterranean, Spanish and more specifically Catalan nature of the people makes the festival what it is. Catalan people are passionate and this passion is infectious. The atmosphere is electric in Barcelona as a city and heightened by music and intoxicants at Sónar.
-
Summer Party Naval Styles at Seven RestoLounge
Oysters, like wine are affected by terroir and these Miyagi’s flavor profiles ranged with one showing a cleaner, almost tropical profile and the other being more salty, marine driven. As I was devouring the seemingly endless plates put in front of us, I sipped on a glass of fine sauvignon blanc.
-
R4NT Radio March 2010
R4NT Radio March 2010 um wow it’s been far too long since the last edition edition, featuring: Hector Hernandez, The Infesticons, Blockhead, Gramatik, Emika, Thunderheist, Parov Stelar, Eddy Meets Yannah, Anti-Pop Consortium, The Slew, Lighterthief, Andreya Triana, Parasyte Woman, Mathon, Venetian Snares, and Funki Porcini.
-
O Restaurant & Lounge revisited
Calgary has a diverse set of urban communities, most of which have the ubiquitous strip mall watering hole. In the South West community of Marda Loop, a reinvention of this paradigm has been established.
-
Predictions 2010.. and beyond!
So 2010 eh? Almost but not quite (no year zero they say) another decade? It seems like just yesterday that the world was waiting for Y2K. R4NT started publishing in March 2001, so we’re not quite 10 years old yet, but in internet years we are already a senior citizen.
-
Invictus
No matter what, the reality of Nelson Mandela is something that deserves screen time. Should this film even remotely intrigue the masses to take interest in this figure, the world would likely benefit greatly from it.
