I look forward to each vintage of the Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin. This is straight up one of the best Canadian wines on the market and every vintage has been exceptional value. I am not in a position where I can spend a couple hundred bucks on Premier Grand Cru Bordeaux so anything that can get me close while saving a few bucks makes me happy. I had the opportunity to attend a dinner where we tasted a few back vintages of Osoyoos Larose wines and it was an absolute pleasure to see how these wines have aged.
2010 – Vintages 626325 – $44.95 – ****1/2 – Let me start by posting my notes on the 2010. This is the vintage that is currently on the shelves of vintages. This wine is exceptional! The nose is pencil shaving with just small notes of dark fruit poking through. If you give this wine enough time in your glass you will have Blackberry, Currant, and Blueberry that finally reveal themselves. The tannin is still very firm so you will want to age this wine for another 8-15 years. This wine is as close to Bordeaux as you will find in Canada while still holding onto it’s identity. The youthful vines won’t give the the ageing potential of an expensive bordeaux … but I don’t care. I don’t want to have to age my wine 10 years to enjoy it. Buy at least two bottles, one for now and one for the future.
2011 Le Grand Vin – ****1/2 – We can already look forward to next vintage even though it’s not on the shelves yet. You can taste the difference a year in bottle makes. This is very youthful with a little more Raspberry and Plum hit your palate first before you make way for Cassis, and Blueberry. There are beautiful notes of Cedar, Leather and woodsmoke all in the mix. There is A LOT going on in the bottle. I haven’t even fully digested 2010 and I am already looking forward to tasting the next vintage!
2009 Le Grand Vin – There are strong mineral and chalk notes right in the mid palate that doesn’t exist (yet?) in the newer vintages. Once the mineral notes move away this opens up to lots of Raspberry, Strawberry, Currant and Plum with nits of mint. The tannin is still firm and this wine is still very youthful without showing any signs of adolescence. This wine still has a long way to go.
2007 Le Grand Vin – This was the highlight of the night for me. The tannin has softened and this wine is starting to mature nicely. The nose is Strawberry and Blackberry… It’s nearly completely fruit driven. While still present the tannin is silky smooth and this wine drinks dangerously easy. Beautiful and elegant but still bold. I can’t wait for the newer vintages to start tasting like this … this is where I take a deep breath and tell myself to be patient.
2003 Le Grand Vin – The fruit is almost gone. To me I would consider this wine past its prime, but to many it might be just right. This was made with young vines so it definitely didn’t have the longevity that the 2009-11 vintages will have. Coffee, Cocoa are what you will notice first and foremost with hints of blackberry under it. While distinctly blackberry the fruit is starting to dry out. This is definitely tasting like old wine.
As much as I love Le Grand Vin it’s out of my price range for something I can drink on a regular basis. As with wineries in Bordeaux Osoyoos Larose have a second wine called Petales D’Osoyoos. They are knocking it out of the park with this wine. While many of the second wines I tasted on my last visit to Bordeaux felt like an afterthought this is anything but that. Earlier this year I poured a bottle of this wine for my Dad who is a BC wine hater. He loves Ontario wine but has yet to find a BC wine that impresses him. I asked him to guess if the wine was from BC, California or France… he couldn’t guess but he loved it. The philosophy for this wine is to make something that is approachable and drinkable right now
2011 Pétales D’Osoyoos – LCBO 276741 – $24.95 – ****+ – The nose is fruit driven with lots of raspberry and cassis with leather in there as well. This wine still feels young with slight pencil shavings on the nose as well. For twenty five bucks you will have a hard time finding another wine from anywhere with this level of complexity. This may not age as long as Le Grand Vin but should last for 5-7 years in your cellar.
2012 Pétales D’Osoyoos – ****+ – This is something to look forward to for sure. The nose is plum and raspberry with slight smoky notes and the flavours are completely fruit driven. This is immediately soft on the palate but still with nice structure. This will age 5-7 years as well. I will be drinking a few bottles of both the 2011 and 2012 without guilt while Le Grand Vin ages gracefully in my cellar.
