Introducing BC’s Gate 22 Winery’s Full-Bodied Red WinesPR SAMPLE 

Gate 22 Winery in Surrey, BC, is probably new to many people.  I know it only came on my radar later this year.  It has an interesting name, which made me think of a gate at an airport, plus their logo shows an airplane propeller.  When I checked with the winery, I was told the ownership group manages the Boundary Bay airport and “22” represents the year the ownership group purchased the winery as well as their address is on 150 – 19288 22nd Ave.  Their goal is to make full-bodied wines.  They search and handpick grapes from award-winning vineyards in California to this end.  

I received three bottles of their red blend wines and will review two of them today.  I opened their Gate 22 Winery Ton of Brix 2020 and The Manifest 2020 wines.  Let me tell you about these wines.

My Wine Tasting Notes

Gate 22 Winery Ton of Brix 2020 (BC $29.99)

The Ton of Brix 2020 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon 54%, Sangiovese 17%, Syrah 15%, and Zinfandel 14%. Only 73 barrels of this wine were produced.  Brix, in case you don’t recognize it, is a wine term indicating the amount of sugar there is in the grapes upon maturation and picking. A reading of 24° Brix, for example, means the liquid is 24% sugar by weight. If you multiply that number by 0.55 you get the approximate amount of alcohol that would be produced after fermentation.

Appearance:  A deep, almost opaque, garnet colour.  Teardrops evident on the sides of the glass after swirling.
Nose:  Medium-plus intensity enticing aromas of cinnamon, plums, black fruit, candied black fruit, toasty oak, and sweet spices.  No change to the aromas after decanting.
Palate:  Dry, medium-plus body with a silky smooth mouthfeel.  Sweet black fruits, black plums, and a hint of raspberry flavours, plus some oak bitterness.  Soft tannins and medium acidity.  The wine gets a little peppery toward the finish.  The wine is a little less peppery and less oak bitterness after decanting.
Finish:  A medium-plus to long length finishing with black fruits, black plums and some pepperiness and some oak bitterness.  Medium intensity, drying tannins. The wine has less pepperiness on the finish after decanting, but you can add a touch of sweet spices.

An inviting red wine with sweet black fruit and spices.  Some bitterness on the palate which reducing a bit with decanting.  

Rating: –   Gate 22 Winery Ton of Brix 2020 offers inviting aromas of cinnamon, plums, black fruit, candied fruit, and toast. The palate is silky and medium plus in body, showing sweet black fruits, plums, a hint of raspberry, and light oak bitterness, with soft tannins and a touch of pepperiness. It finishes medium plus to long with black fruit, plums, drying tannins, and a subtle lift of sweet spice.

Gate 22 Winery The Manifest 2020 (BC $)

The Manifest is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon 25%, Sangiovese 25%, Syrah 25%, and Zinfandel 25%.  Only 27 barrels of this wine were produced.  

Appearance:  Also a deep, almost opaque, garnet colour in the glass.
Nose:  Medium-minus intensity aromas of black fruit, and touches of candied black fruit, sweet spices, and cedar.  The aromas are a little lighter after decanting.
Palate:  This wine is dry, medium-plus body with a smooth, soft mouthfeel.  Soft tannins that get stronger toward the finish and medium acidity.  Deep flavours, but not overpowering, of black fruits, dried black fruits, and touches of vanilla, dark chocolate, and cedar.  Same deep flavours and body after decanting.
Finish:  A medium-plus to long length finishing with firmer, drying tannins.  Black fruits, candied black fruits and sweet spices on the finish.  Some subtle butteriness toward the end.  No change to the finish after decanting.

A smooth red wine with deep flavours.  The firmer tannins gives this wine the ability to age, maybe another 4-5 years.  No need to decant.

Rating: –   Gate 22 Winery The Manifest 2020 shows deep black fruit on the nose with hints of candied fruit, sweet spice, and cedar. The palate is smooth and medium-plus in body, offering layered black fruit, dried black fruit, vanilla, chocolate, and cedar, with soft tannins that firm up toward the finish. It ends with medium plus to long length showing drying tannins and black fruit accented by sweet spices.

Where Can I Buy These Wines

Both wines are available for purchase online through the winery website:

• The Manifest *New Release | Gate 22 Winery
• Ton Of Brix *New Release | Gate 22 Winery

If you check their other wines, you may see “Cavallo” as the name on the bottle.  That is because this winery was originally Cavallo and changed over to Gate 22 Winery this year.