I have two organic Cabernet wines for you from Summerhill Pyramid Winery in Kelowna. I received their 2019 Organic Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2018 Organic Cabernet Franc to taste and review. The wines after being made were aged for some time in their winery pyramid. These wines besides being organic are also suitable for drinking by vegans.
I am impressed by Summerhill spending the time in their vineyards, winery, and supply chain to be certified Canada Organic, DEMETER Biodynamic, and a Certified B Corporation. It shows to me that they care about their vines, their wine, the environment, and us in a holistic way. Many of us probably do not know the differences between these different certifications, so in one of my upcoming articles, I am going to cover them, so that you can be a more educated consumer. Yes, it does cost time, money, and effort, and I will get into those aspects as well.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Summerhill Pyramid Winery Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 (BC $40+tax)
Appearance: A deep dull garnet colour with a hint of ruby. About 90% opaque, but still translucent to the core.
Nose: A medium intensity nose with a wide variety of aromas, starting off with dill (which I love), red fruits, blackberries, vanilla, baby powder, sweet spices, and red cherries. With swirling the dill aroma fades and you then get some smokiness, mace, and dark fruit aromas. After decanting, the dill aroma appears again, this time in the background. The variety of aromas does decrease, giving you more blackberries, along with red berries and sweet spices. I did not detect any vanilla aroma.
Palate: This wine is very slightly off-dry, medium-bodied, fairly round, but has some linearity. Medium acidity and very light, soft supple tannins. Flavours of red cherries, candied red cherries, red fruits, sweet spices, cedar, and touches of chocolate and capsicum. Some minerality in the background and blackberries toward the finish. The acidity provides lively red fruit flavours. With decanting we now get some dill on the palate, the mace spice and blackberry flavours are more evident as well. No chocolate and capsicum. The wine is a bit rounder and the tannins are slightly stronger.
Finish: A medium-length finishing with light intensity red fruit, sweet spices, and cedar. Light pepperiness as well. The finish fades fairly quickly. Frimer tannins with a longer finish with decanting. Blackberry flavours as well.
I prefer the undecanted version of this wine with a wider variety of aromas and flavours.
Rating: 
– 
A wide variety of aromas including dill, red fruits, red fruits, sweet spices and vanilla. Medium body, roundish with a plush mouthfeel. Red cherries, candied red cherries, sweet spices and cedar on the palate. A touch of blackberries. Very soft, light tannins.
Summerhill Pyramid Winery Organic Cabernet Franc 2018 (BC $29+tax)
Appearance: A deep, dull garnet in colour, about 80% opaque, translucent to the core.
Nose: A pronounced intensity nose, with loads of red fruit, sweet spices / cinnamon, red cherries, blackberries, oak, and cedar. With some air, you can add vanilla and candied cherry aromas. The overall aroma intensity is reduced with decanting. You also get stronger blackberries and sweet spices aromas.
Palate: Dry, medium-bodied with a soft, semi-round mouthfeel. Medium-plus intensity flavours of red cherries, candied red cherries, raspberries, and touches of salty minerality, oak and cedar, pepperiness, and cinnamon. Light fine tannins and medium acidity. With decanting the flavours persist, but you get more blackberries flavour, a touch of cocoa and slightly firmer tannins.
Finish: A medium length with a light finish. Ripe sweet red fruit, oak, and cinnamon. More acidity than tannins on the finish. The tannins are firmer on the finish with decanting, plus you get some cedar and tart red fruit flavours.
Overall I think I prefer the newly opened bottle with more red fruit aromas and flavours and lighter tannins.
Rating: – A pronounced nose when first opened, showing red fruits, sweet spices and red cherries aromas. Dry and soft with a lighter mouthfeel. Red fruits, candied red cherries, along with touches of oak, vanilla and pepper. Very light, fine tannins.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
You can purchase these wines through the Summerhill website. These wines are newly released so not yet distributed in wine shops. As the wines get out to shops, I will update my post with those locations.
