2009 Red Icon

The Best Red Blend-Other, 2009 Painted Rock Red Icon, 2013 Spring Okanagan Wine Festival
 

97 POINTS "This is a spectacular blend of Bordeaux grapes: 30% merlot, 29% cabernet franc, 25% cabernet sauvignon, 15% petit sirah, 1% syrah. A heavy-hitter that gets more refined every year. This vintage has the caged power of a tiger stalking back and forth behind bars... decant it and you'll taste that gorgeously savage energy and concentration. Loaded with dark fruit and toasty oak. This wine spent 18 months in 95% new French oak. Unleash your inner tiger and slake more than your thirst with this wine. Food matches: premium cut of steak, wild mushrooms and a rich demi-glace." Natalie MacLean

 

93 POINTS “A true expression of the terroir from British Columbia‟s Okanagan Valley. Cabernet flavours are most evident on the nose, with red bell pepper, currants, cedar and mint, but the palate is where all of the other grapes from the blend come together seamlessly, each bringing a crucial component to the final wine. This topped the huge Red Blend category at the 2011 Canadian Wine Awards, helping vault Painted Rock into the position as the top ranked B.C. winery in the competition. It features a very compelling, lifted nose with cabernet front and centre—expressed as blackcurrant-cassis jam, with roasted herbs, dark chocolate, vague smoke and olive nuances. I love the idea of putting some syrah in the blend, filling the crevices without taking over. Its medium-full bodied with great poise and tension. The length is excellent. It reminds me a bit of a cabernet-based Bolgheri super-Tuscan.” David Lawrason, WineAlign

93-95 POINTS “This is a big, unfiltered red...This is the third vintage of Red Icon and the first with no Malbec in the   blend. It begins with aromas of spice, blackberry, black currant and dark cherry. It shows a rich texture with flavours   of berries, plums, dark chocolate and vanilla. This is a wine...which has both power and elegance." John Schreiner

93 POINTS “The flagship Bordeaux-style blend from a top Okanagan estate is big and succulent, with a cartload of  plum and currant, rich chocolate and chalky, cellar-worthy tannins sculpted for the long haul.  The big surprise is its   mineral character: Think cult Napa cab crossed with find Bordeaux.”  Beppi Crosariol, Globe and Mail