Today I was fortunate to taste and review two Renaissance red wines from the Okanagan’s Stag’s Hollow Winery. Their premium Renaissance wines represent their best barrels from only the best vintages and are made in small lots. Needless to say, if you like my descriptions of these wines buy them asap as they will sell out quickly. The two wines I sampled are the Stag’s Hollow Renaissance Amalia Vineyard Syrah 2020 and their Renaissance Pinot Noir 2020. Both wines are vegan-friendly.
About Stag’s Hollow Winery
In case you have not heard of Stag’s Hollow Winery, I thought I’d provide a bit of background info for you here. From the winery:
“Stag’s Hollow started with an existing 10 acre vineyard in 1992. The winery was later constructed in 1995 after the first official crush, and the winery celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2020…
Stag’s Hollow Winery is focused on low intervention winemaking that reflects the different sites of its two vineyards – Stag’s Hollow Estate and Shuttleworth Creek – within the Okanagan Falls sub-GI terroir. Grapes are hand harvested and sorted, with
all grapes or wine moving from sorting table to press to tank or barrel by gravity. We highlight more unusual varieties such as Albariño, Tempranillo, Dolcetto, Teroldego and Vidal. Pinot Noir is our largest-producing variety, which is key within the
Okanagan Falls sub-GI…
Sustainability for us includes everything from land conservation and pest management to responsible water usage, efficient energy use and social equity through business planning, our employees and our relationship with our community. We use only
organic products in our vineyards, trellis with a Geneva Double Curtain method, harvest by hand, and have natural buffer zones. Our buildings are geothermal, from air temperature to tanks, and all packaging is with recycled or recyclable materials. We are certified through Sustainable Winegrowers BC and Salmon Safe…”
My Wine Tasting Notes
Stag’s Hollow Renaissance Pinot Noir 2020 (BC $42)
Pommard clone plus 667 and 115 clones were used to produce this wine. 39% 667, 31% Pommard, and 30% 115 clone. 100 cases and 36 magnums were produced.
Winemaker’s notes, “Hand-picked and hand-sorted estate grown lots of Pinot Noir were fermented in small 1 ton, open-topped fermenters, using selected yeast strains. The 30% whole berry ferments were punched down 3 times daily by hand and then pressed directly into 100% French oak barrels (15% new 300L hogsheads). Each clone was fermented, pressed and barrelled down separately. After malolactic fermentation it was aged for an additional 13 months on fine lees before being racked and blended, and is set to be bottled without fining or filtration in June 2022.“
Appearance: A clear, medium-intensity garnet colour. Consistent translucent colour from rim to core.
Nose: Lighter aromas, with red fruit, light toastiness, sweet spices, oak and a touch of red cherries. With some air, you also get candied red cherries and caramel aromas. Same aromas with decanting.
Palate: Dry, medium body, but medium-plus flavour intensity. Round and smooth, but not mouth-filling. Transparent, not dense flavours of red cherries and red fruit, along with touches of sweet spices, oak and some smokiness. A hint of floral with air. The wine does get bigger and rounder with air. A bit more tart red fruits and red cherries with decanting.
Finish: Medium-plus finish with red fruit and some pepperiness. Lighter tannins that get a bit firmer with time in the glass. Mouthwatering acidity on the finish. Add tart red fruit flavours and some toastiness after decanting.
A pretty Pinot Noir, that is quite hard to describe with it’s wonderful transparent, limpid flavours. Enticing. No need to decant.
Rating: 
– 
Clear, medium-intensity garnet colour. Lighter aromas of red fruit, light toastiness, sweet spices, oak and red cherries. Dry, medium body, smooth, but not mouth-filling. Red cherries and red fruit, along with touches of sweet spices, oak and some smokiness on the palate. Medium-plus length.
Stag’s Hollow Renaissance Amalia Vineyard Syrah 2020 (BC $42)
4.9% Viognier was added to co-ferment with the Syrah grapes. This typically adds a floral note to the wine and extracts colour from the Syrah grape skins. 200 six-pack cases + 48 magnums were produced.
Winemaker’s notes, “Hand-harvested grapes were sorted, destemmed and partially crushed into 1-ton open-top fermenters (with varying amounts of viognier inclusion). After a 4-day cold soak, both ferments (30% whole berry) were warmed and inoculated with selected yeasts. The ferments were punched down 3 times daily by hand, and then pressed into French oak barrels (variety of 228L, 300L & 500L / 30% new). After malolactic fermentation, the wine was aged for an additional 18 months on fine lees before being blended together. This wine is set to be bottled unfined and unfiltered in June, 2022.”
Appearance: A deep dull ruby colour, almost opaque at the core.
Nose: Light-intensity aromas showing red fruit to start that transitions to black fruit, meatiness and smoke, cloves, oak and a touch of black pepper. Not much change with decanting, other than no red fruit aroma.
Palate: Off-dry, medium-plus body, smooth silky, and round with a thicker mouthfeel. Dense black fruit flavours, along with touches of mace, meatiness, and black pepper. Medium intensity, fine-grained tannins. The wine tastes drier with decanting, plus I get touches of toast, tarriness, and smokiness to add to the existing flavours outlined.
Finish: Medium-plus length finishing with a mix of tart red and black fruit, light tannins, and some oak bitterness. Mostly tart black fruit flavours on the finish with decanting, and touches of black pepper and acidity.
A silky smooth Syrah with deep black fruit flavours. No major changes with decanting, so open and enjoy.
Rating: A deep ruby colour. Light-intensity aromas of black fruit, meat, smoke, oak and black pepper. Off-dry smooth, round with a thicker mouthfeel. Dense black fruit flavours, along with some mace, meatiness and black pepper. Medium-plush length.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
You can purchase these two wines through the Stag’s Hollow website.
