My First 2 Red BC Wines for 2021 from Roche Wines

My first 2 BC red wines to taste for 2021 are from Roche Wines in Penticton.  Both are Bordeaux blends which show the difference quite well between having Cabernet Sauvignon as the primary grape or the least in a blend.   The Roche Wines nuances 2017 is a blend of 58% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot, and 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, under screw cap, while the Roche Wines Chateau 2017 is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc, under cork.  The Chateau is a bigger wine, with stronger tannins and ageing potential, but the nuance has more nuances and can be enjoyed now. 

 

I quite enjoyed tasting these two wines and look forward to more excellent BC red wines to taste this year. Roche Wines organically farms their vineyards.

Roche Wines nuances 2017 (BC $32.90) – has a dull, deep, about 80% opaque garnet colour.  As I swirled this glass of wine, the aromas and flavours changed quite quickly.  It started with red fruits, floral, sweet spices, oak and a touch of smokiness on the nose, but then progressed to more darker fruit and then a touch of capsicum.  No major changes to the aromas with decanting.  On the palate the wine tasted off-dry, with medium fine grained tannins, but then with swirling progressed to taste drier and the tannins became firmer.  This wine is fuller bodied, smooth, and semi-round.  Dark fruits, cassis, flavours with touches of nutmeg/mace, floral, minerality, capsicum and oak.  With a little more swirling I also detected a chocolate flavour.  Again no major changes with decanting, other than you get a bit more black fruit, and pepperiness on the finish.  It has a medium plus length, finishing initially sweeter, but then drying out with swirling; cassis, plums, peppery mace flavours.  But then red fruit at the very end.  Truly a nuanced wine. Decanted or not, this wine is a nice sip.

 

Rating: A nuanced wine.  Starting off with more red fruits then progresses to black fruits on the nose and palate.  Some floral perfume, capsicum, and oak as well.  It is fuller-bodied with fine tannins.

 

Roche Wines Chateau 2017 (only available to wine club members) – a dull, deep, about 80% opaque, garnet colour (the wine is unfined and unfiltered).  This wine has a medium intensity nose with a mix of black cherries and cassis fruits; lightly smoky.  With swirling the aromas trend more toward black fruit and I did pick up some milk chocolate.  After decanting the aromas were lighter, and primarily cassis, nutmeg and smokiness.  This wine is slightly off-dry, you can detect the sweet fruit throughout the sip.  It has a medium plus body and flavour intensity.  Semi-round with firmer tannins that are evident from start to finish.  You get a mix of red and black fruit, and a touch of floral, raspberries, oak, and salty minerality.  With swirling, you get more black fruit flavours.  The wine is rounder with decanting plus the salty minerality is more evident.  The fruits that stood out are raspberries, plums and ripe black fruit.  This wine has a medium plus length finishing with a mix of sweet red and black fruit, nutmeg, a touch of oak and pepperiness, and quite firm dry tannins.  The tannins were less drying with decanting.  I think giving this wine some decanting gives you a nicer sip. This wine will age well and be tasting very nicely over 2-4 years.

 

Rating: A bigger companion to nuances.  It has a lightly smoky nose.  Plums and a mix of red & black fruit on nose and palate.  Fuller bodied. Firmer tannins that can lead to a longer ageing potential.

 

Where Can I Buy These Wines?

As mentioned, the Chateau 2017 is only available to Club Members.  Club Membership info at this link.  The nuances 2017 is available to order from their website.  Roche Wines has complimentary shipping in BC for orders of 6 bottles or more. No code needed.

Thank you to Roche Wines for providing me these wines to review.