I’ve always enjoyed comparing these 2 Riesling wines from Harper’s Trail Estate Winery from Kamloops. The wines are always different yet come from the same vineyard, just different blocks. I’ve written about past vintages of these wines that you can read about on mywinepal. Let me tell you about the 2019 vintage.
The Growing Season is important every year for grapes. Was the 2019 season another hot vintage? In general, May and June were warm and flowering time was normal. July and August were warm but had no heat spikes which can shut down vine growth and maturation. We luckily avoided a major fire season with smoke. Mid-September was cool and rainy but then October was sunny and dry up till Thanksgiving when a frost in the interior came killing the vines’ leaves and stopping the grape maturation. So generally a cooler season that resulted in reduced yields this year. But the grapes had a long growing season; the cooler weather let the grapes pack on flavour but not as much sugar. So for BC wines you may note that the wines have juicy, vibrant fruits, and crisp acidity.
My Tasting Notes
Harper’s Trail Thadd Springs Vineyard Pioneer Block Riesling 2019 (BC $19.29) – This wine has a medium intensity blend of straw and lemon colours. It has a lighter intensity nose, but has deep honeysuckle aroma along with lesser orange and lemon. With decanting you get lots of stone fruit aromas to complement the existing aromas. This wine is off-dry, medium plus body and flavour intensity. Round with soft, controlled fruit flavours. There is a light acidic prickle at the start but it fades quickly and then you get a smooth mouth feel. Ripe pears, citrus with pith, light peach and toast/flint on the palate. This wine has a medium plus length, with honey, butterscotch lemon, and pith. Steeliness on the finish. There is a BIG change with this wine on the palate after decanting. It opens up so much. Lots of tart fruit flavours, more honey, and a thicker mouth feel. Add stone fruits and crisp apple to the initial fruit flavours. This wine can age easily 4-5 years. Works well with smoked cheese.
Rating: 
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Deep honeysuckle with touches of orange and citrus on the nose upon opening. It’s smooth with light acidity. A mix of ripe stone fruits and citrus and a touch of honey.
Harper’s Trail Thadd Springs Vineyard Silver Mane Block Riesling 2019 (BC $19.29) – Medium intensity lemon colour. It has a medium plus intensity nose with citrus and lemon with lesser amounts of petrol, white flowers, lime, honey, peach, and with air you get oranges. With decanting the aromas stay the same but are a little lighter. This wine is off-dry, semi-round with a light, airy mouthfeel. Very light acidic prickle gives this wine its body. Acidic tension. Juicy, bright flavours of citrus, stone fruit and pears along with a touch of honey all intermingled. Stony minerality toward the finish. It finishes with a mix of tart and sweet citrus, some bitter leaf, then some honey and a hint of pepperiness. With decanting you get a bit more stone fruit flavours on the palate. 3-4 years of ageing for this wine.
Rating: A light mix of citrus, petrol and white flowers on the nose. Nice bright citrus and stone fruit flavours, with a light airy mouthfeel.
Where Can You Buy These Wines?
You can order these wines through the Harper’s Trail website, and also purchase the wines from private liquor stores in BC. Swirl Wine Store in Yaletown has the Silver Mane Block Riesling.
