Let’s get back to some BC wines. This time it is Robin Ridge Winery from the Similkameen Valley. I have an organic Chardonnay and an organic Rosé labelled Flicker. What is a Flicker you may ask? In keeping with the bird theme for this winery, according to allaboutbirds.org the Northern Flickers are “… are large, brown woodpeckers with a gentle expression and handsome black-scalloped plumage. On walks, don’t be surprised if you scare one up from the ground. It’s not where you’d expect to find a woodpecker, but flickers eat mainly ants and beetles, digging for them with their unusual, slightly curved bill. When they fly you’ll see a flash of color in the wings – yellow if you’re in the East, red if you’re in the West – and a bright white flash on the rump.” These birds are abundant in Vancouver, where you may hear them pecking on light and telephone poles and other metal objects making a short of machine gun type sound.
My Tasting Notes
Robin Ridge Chardonnay 2018 (BC $20.25) – Has a bright medium intensity lemon colour. A lighter nose, but has nice pears and butterscotch aromas with lesser amounts of citrus and honey. With decanting you get mainly tropical fruit aromas, with lesser butterscotch, citrus and pear. This wine is dry, round and silky smooth! Lower acidity which helps give it a thicker mouthfeel. Medium intensity flavours of pears, butterscotch, tropical fruit and honey. Medium plus length finishing with tropical fruit, butterscotch and some pepperiness. A very nice wine. With decanting the flavours stay the same except that you get some bitter tannins coming in, which could either be from oak or maybe grape bunch stems. I prefer the wine first opened to avoid the bitter tannins surfacing. See update below.
Rating: 
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An elegant wine with inviting aromas of ripe pears, citrus, honey and butterscotch. The wine has a very silky smooth, round mouthfeel, with flavours of pears, tropical fruits and butterscotch. Some pepperiness on the finish. Open and enjoy. No decanting needed.
Robin Ridge Flicker 2018 (BC $18.25) – A medium intensity bright peach colour. It has a light intensity nose giving you fresh stone fruit, red apple and red fruit aromas. No changes to the nose with decanting. It is dry and round with a thicker creamy mouthfeel. Red cherries, crisp red apples and red fruit flavours. Light acidity to keep the wine fresh. Very light fine tannins. A medium-plus length finishing with red fruits and apple, some pepperiness and light fine tannins. The thick, smooth mouthfeel persists from start to finish. Another tasty wine. With decanting the apple flavour gets stronger toward the finish and there is a strong bitter tannin taste that continues to the finish. I recommend drinking the wine as soon as you open it to avoid the bitter tannins from decanting. See update below.
Rating: A delicious Rosé wine to drink as soon as you open it. It has nice stone fruit, red apple and red fruit aromas. A thicker, round creamy mouthfeel with red cherries crisp red apples and red fruits on the palate.
Note: As you’ve read, both wines are showing bitter tannins with a day of decanting in my wine storage unit. I will try the wines again the next day, giving 48 hrs of decant to see if these tannins persist, or if they fade away. Wines do change over time once opened. But for the moment, I recommend drinking both wines as soon as you open them. If there is a change again, I will update this article.
Update: after 24 hrs there was bitterness, but after 48 hrs re-taste the bitterness has disappeared. So if you don’t finish these wines when you open them, wait 48 hrs before enjoying them again.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
You can purchase these wines from Robin Ridge’s website. Everything Wine carries the Chardonnay. The Chardonnay is also available at the Swirl Wine Store.
