Three Monte Creek Ranch Spring Releases for You

Monte Creek Ranch winery tasting room and restaurant

The Monte Creek Ranch Winery may not be familiar to you as it is not in one of the more well-known grape growing regions of BC, like the Okanagan. It is in the Thompson Valley, just east of Kamloops. It is a ranch with cattle, but it primarily grows grapes and produces wines. The Thompson Valley does have to deal with a colder winter than the Okanagan, and the wineries in the area have tried planting hybrid grapes that withstand our cold winters. But the cold winters are not as cold as they were many years ago. In fact, noble grapes like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Riesling are grown in the Thompson Valley.

I have been sampling Monte Creek Ranch’s wines for a few years, and their wines, with their distinct climate and terroir from the Okanagan, produces wines that taste different from Okanagan wines. I recently received a bottle of their 2017 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and a bottle of their 2018 Reserve Riesling to taste.

2017 was the year of forest fires in BC. Smoke, although it reached the Okanagan, I think was more intense in the Thompson Valley. Smoke is always a worry for winemakers as the smoke can stick to the skins of the grapes and penetrate into the grapes. During veraison is the worst time for potential smoke taint. Smoke, on the other hand, filters sunlight so that the grapevines do not get overly hot and shut down during the growing season, allowing the grapes to mature more fully over a longer period of time. The winemaker at Monte Creek Ranch I am told undertook many steps to try to minimize smoke taint in their 2017 vintage and from tasting these 2 wines, I can say that they have been successful.

2018 was a cool vintage; the coolest vintage on record in BC. This allowed for a long growing season so that the grapes can reach full phenologic maturity, giving us great fruit flavour and aromas, and balanced acidity.

Let’s dig into my tasting notes for these three wines.

My Tasting Notes

Monte Creek Ranch Chardonnay 2017 with wine in glass

Monte Creek Ranch Chardonnay 2017 ($17.49 at winery) – The grapes for this wine are not from the Thompson Valley. Hopefully, future vintages will have Chardonnay grapes from the Thompson Valley. These grapes came from the Naramata Bench and near McIntyre Bluff in the south-central Okanagan. This wine is a deep, bright lemon colour in the glass. Almost medium intensity nose, showing toasty oak, hot buttered popcorn, butterscotch and light tropical fruit aromas. It is dry and has a very thick, smooth, buttery mouthfeel. Low acidity. Mostly tropical fruit flavours, along with lesser amounts of pears, roasted apples and oak. With decanting you get lots of butterscotch and some sweet spices on the palate as well. The wine has a medium length, finishing feeling thick in your mouth. Light tropical fruits, butterscotch, oak and some pepperiness.

Rating A very heavy, buttery, thick mouthfeel for this Chardonnay. Toasty oak and hot buttered popcorn on the nose, with mainly tropical fruit on the palate.

Monte Creek Ranch Riesling Reserve 2018 with wine in glass

Monte Creek Ranch Riesling Reserve 2018 ($24.99 at winery) – Light, bright lemon green colour. Fresh aromas of oranges and other citrus with peach behind. With decanting you also get some lime and bramble leaf aromas. The wine is dry with grippy tart acidity at the back of your tongue but feels smoother toward the front of your mouth. Lighter bodied with medium intensity citrus and apple, with lesser amounts of stone fruit; peach in particular. Prominent salty minerality upon first opening it, and with decanting with wine takes on more of a steely character. Medium plus length finishing with salty minerality, citrus, orange and some bramble leaf. The tart acidity at the moment means you need to enjoy this wine with food. With ageing, maybe 3-5 years the acidity should soften and the fruit and mineral components should be more enjoyable. Note that other wineries like Tantalus also have very high acid Rieslings and to really enjoy them you have to age them.

Rating: High acidity, mineral with citrus and orange fruits primarily and a touch of peach on the nose and palate. If you drink this wine now, the acidity is quite high so enjoy with food. Ageing this wine is recommended for your pleasure.

Monte Creek Ranch Pinot Noir 2017 with wine in glass

Monte Creek Ranch Pinot Noir 2017 ($20.49 at winery) – This wine is a translucent medium plus garnet colour. Medium intensity nose showing red fruits, raspberries, red cherries, floral and sweet spices in equal proportions. With decanting you get more red cherries and a hint of smoke. The wine is dry, medium bodied, with medium acidity and lighter fine tannins. Semi-round mouthfeel. It is quite floral and also has raspberries and other red fruits, red cherry, and plum fruit flavours. Light vanilla and oak as well. With decanting the wine shows lots of bright red fruit flavours and less plum. The wine has a medium plus length finishing with red fruit, plums, sweet spices and a hint of cocoa on first opening. Light tannins on the finish. Some pepperiness and oak. Decanting recommended. This wine could be aged 2-4 years.

Rating: – A Pinot Noir with equally proportioned aromas and flavours of red fruits, floral, and sweet spices.

Where Can I Buy These Wines?

Monte Creek Ranch does offer sales of their wines through their Buy Wine web page. If you live in the lower mainland or the Fraser Valley, the list below shows all the shops that carry Monte Creek Ranch’s wines: