Okanagan’s Osoyoos Larose is well known for their top-tier Le Grand Vin and their second-tier wine, Petales d’Osoyoos. Their inaugural wine, Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2001, exceeded all expectations at home and abroad.
Myself and a group of other media and sommeliers were invited to sit down for a casual dinner with winemaker Michael Kullman to taste through some current and back vintages of their flagship Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin.
Michael hails from London, but trained in viticulture in France and has worked in Bordeaux, both left and right banks, before coming here. He doesn’t like calling Osoyoos Larose’s wines a Bordeaux blend, rather than call it an Okanagan blend as our terroir is different than Bordeaux and we should make a wine that shows off our character and not try to copy Bordeaux. An excellent way of thinking!
Michael mentioned that both wines are always primarily Merlot with lesser amounts of the other grapes and that the wines have been aged in new, first, and second-fill French oak barrels. He has been reviewing the cooperages and choosing ones that fit with his vision of the wines in the future as different barrel makers bring different characteristics to the wine, like creaminess, tannins, and power. In the 2021 and 2022 vintages, 20% of the wine will not go into oak barrel to allow more freshness to the wine. Starting with the 2022 vintage they harvested the grapes sooner so that the wines are not as alcohol-heavy and unbalanced. His vision is to produce wines that show more finesse and balance.
They have a single vineyard to produce their wines, so you really get the terroir of the area in the bottle. The vineyard near Osoyoos is planted entirely to Bordeaux red varieties, with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. Michael also mentioned that they planted Sauvignon Blanc in a new vineyard so a white wine will be coming from the winery in the future. He has been busy working in their main vineyard replanting the red varieties to take the best opportunity of the terroir in different areas of the vineyard and mitigate the effects of climate change. Osoyoos Larose is certified organic, with their first organic vintage being in 2022.
The Menu Pairing
FIRST COURSE
Venison tartare
Beet marmalade, crispy grains, sorel, olive
Osoyoos Larose Petales d’Osoyoos 2019
SECOND COURSE
Lamb
Mushroom, celeriac, bagna cauda
Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2007
Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2012
Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2013
MAIN
Osso buco
Creamy polenta, trumpet mushroom gremolata
Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2019
Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2020
My Wine Tasting Notes
Osoyoos Larose Petales d’Osoyoos 2019 – A nice vintage year for Osoyoos Larose according to Michael. The grapes for this wine every year come from cooler blocks in the vineyard. This wine has a deep garnet colour. Medium-intensity nose with floral, black cherries and sweet spices. Dry, light body with a lean mouthfeel. Medium acidity and light tannins. Raspberries, plus some candied cherries and peppery flavours. Vibrant flavours. 
Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2007 – A cooler vintage so you get more herbaceous notes according to Michael. This wine has medium-intensity aromas of floral, dill, ripe dark berries. Medium-plus body with bright acidity. Tart black cherries, some pepperiness and earthiness. This wine still has more life to it.
Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2012 – A cooler vintage. The vineyard was expanded in 2006 and these grapes were included in this vintage so there is more Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon giving this vintage onward more structure. It has an opaque garnet colour. Light intensity dark fruit aromas. Medium-plus body, round and dry with bright acidity and firmer tannins. Dark fruit and pepperiness on the palate.
Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2013 – A hotter vintage. Opaque garnet colour. A light-intensity dark fruit nose. Dry, fuller body with dark fruit and vanilla to start, then add touches of floral, chocolate and capsicum later. Medium acidity. 
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The 2019 and 2020 vintages are still quite young, with the 2019 being the latest vintage to be released. I almost feel like it is too soon for these two wines to be rated. Give them some time in the bottle.
Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2019 – A warm, dry vintage. Opaque garnet colour. Light sweet dark berry nose. Medium-minus body, round with firmer tannins. Sweet black fruit flavours with floral and vanilla toward the finish. This wine is just starting to show its character. –
Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2020 – Not released. A cooler vintage for Osyoos Larose. This wine is opaque garnet. Closed aromas of dark fruits. Fuller body, round and smooth with medium acidity and tannins. Dark fruits and vanilla flavours with some sweet fruit on the finish. Firmer tannins as well on the finish. No rating as the wine is still maturing.
The Pairings
I quite enjoyed the venison tartare pairing with the Osoyoos Larose Petales d’Osoyoos 2019. The venison tartar had a wonderful range of flavours and textures. There was sweetness from the beats, plus crunch and toastiness from the grains. The venison was silky smooth. There was some tart acidity in the tartare as well. I enjoyed the fruit flavours of the wine with the acidity and silkiness in the tartar.
The lamb was also delicious paired with the Le Grand Vin 2007, my favourite of the three vintages. The lamb had a little fattiness on the edge which melted in your mouth, some poultry spices (sage?), and a savoury jus. The celeriac was nicely creamy. All three wines made a complementary pairing, meshing with the fattiness in the lab, but I think the dill and floral aromas of the 2007 wine made the pairing a bit better, as I did mention the poultry spices from the lamb.
As the 2019 and 2020 wines are so young, with the 2020 not yet released, they still have time to evolve in the bottle and open up their aromas and flavours. So the Osso buco pairing with these two wines I grade as OK. But taste them again in a few years and I’d expect a better complementary pairing.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
A selection of these wines are available at BC Liquor Stores, select Save On Foods and Everything Wine stores.
Thank you to Osoyoos Larose for giving me the opportunity to try these wines and to speak with Michael Kullman and thanks to L’Abbatoir for making these tasty dishes for us to enjoy with the wines.
