2019 Red Icon

REVIEWS

94 Points - "The wine begins with bold aromas of dark cherry, cassis and chocolate. On the palate, there are flavours of dark cherry, blackberry, blueberry and spice. The tannins are long and elegant. Bright acidity gives the wine a refreshing fruit on the finish." John Schreiner

93 Points - "This wine has blossomed in recent years, shedding prominent oak and packing on intensity and power with a nod toward elegance. The fruit is dark and powerful with a lot of spice that can be unnerving early on, but it dissipates as you work your way into the wine, and long term, it repays patience in the bottle as it gets some age. It should be at its peak closer to 2030. A cool year is never a bad thing in south-central B.C. if your viticulture is up to snuff, which describes the work done at Painted Rock. The property yielded the lowest crop per hectare since 2012 but, unlike many, managed to avoid the devasting October frosts thanks to its excellent air drainage and hung crop well into the end of October. Classic Bordeaux wine growing led by Alain Sutre with winemaker Gabriel Reis has the wine aged 18 months in 30% new French oak mixing 42/19/15/14/10 merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot, malbec, and cabernet sauvignon" Anthony Gismondi

Awards and Media for Past Vintages

2018 Red Icon - John Schreiner, 94 Points
2017 Red Icon - Decanter's "Canadian Wine of the Year"
2017 Red Icon - Decanter - 95 Points "Outstanding"
2017 Red Icon - WineAlign's Guide to Canada's Top Wines "Best Red"
2016 Red Icon – John Schreiner – 95 Points
2016 Red Icon – Silver Medal, Wine Align National Wine Awards of Canada 2019
2015 Red Icon – 93 Points – Decanter Magazine – September 2018 issue Steven Spurrier Fine Wine Selection
2015 Red Icon – Gold Medal, Wine Align National Wine Awards of Canada 2018
2015 Red Icon – Silver Medal, InterVin International Wine Awards of Canada
2014 Red Icon – Best Red – Okanagan, 2017 Best of BC Wine Country Awards
2013 Red Icon – 94 Points, Steven Spurrier, Decanter Magazine
2012 Red Icon – 17 Points, Richard Hemming, www.jancisrobinson.com
2010 Red Icon – Gold Medal, 2014/2015 InterVin International Wine Awards
2009 Red Icon – Gold Medal, 2011 Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards
2009 Red Icon – Silver Medal, 2012 Decanter World Wine Awards
2009 Red Icon – Silver Medal, 2012 Devanter World Wine Awards
2007 Red Icon – Winner of the 2010 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence In BC Wines
2007 Red Icon – Winner of the People’s Choice Awards, 2010 Fall Okanagan Wine Festival

WINEMAKING

Merlot 42%, Cabernet Franc 19%, Petit Verdot 15%, Malbec 14%, Cabernet Sauvignon 10%

Each vineyard block was individually hand picked and berry sorted. Blocks were then broken into small batches, cold soaked on their skins for four days and fermented for an additional 21 days on their skins in tank with twice daily pump overs. All batches were then barrel aged for 18 months in 30% new French oak. The barrels that were blended to create the Red Icon were chosen first for their specific attributes. The wine was blended prior to bottling, unfiltered.

Overall, the 2019 vintage had challenges, but we are exceptionally proud with how our site and team handled them. The season started off cool with more than average rainfall. Our team effectively cropped and maintained the vineyard to ensure high quality fruit and ripeness. While this in turn led us to having the lowest crop yield since 2012, it was well worth it. Our site conditions made it so that we did not experience the early October frosts and were able to continue to hang fruit until late October. Overall, Alain says that this will be a spectacular cool climate vintage from Painted Rock.