British Columbia's Mission Hill Winery's "newest luxury small lot wines," Perpetua and Quatrain are, respectively, a chardonnay and red blend of four grapes - Bordeaux plus Rhone (merlot, cab sauv, cab franc and syrah).
The wines were initially presented at a terrifically decadent lunch at the Spoke Club, where chef Michael Potters of Harvest in Picton presented a multi-course meat and fish feast held in the autumn of 2008. Pictured are "Wine Lady" Georgia, writer Margaret Swaine, Mission Hill proprietor Anthony Von Mandl and writer David Lawrason.
The wines are part of the Legacy Series program - the high end line that includes the flagship Oculus, which was also served at the Spoke. The wines are produced only in small batches and from vineyards benefitting from the most aggressive attention. Firstly, the most promising vines and sites from Mission Hill's 24 different vineyards around the Okanagan are selected, then those vines are particularly coddled with constant monitoring, leaf management, pruning and more carefully monitored irrigation. This is an expensive process, so the wines are not cheap. But they're very good.
Prices are those at the winery itself and both wines are available in more the reasonable case size of six bottles.
Mission Hill Family Estate Perpetua 2006 $32.99
Rich nose with obvious but subdued oak notes of vanilla and a bit of smoke. Nice ripe apple and Bosc pear fruit as well as some apricot. This is a rounder, riper chardonnay, but there's enough acidity to keep it fresh. The oaky notes remain discreet, though it is a little more woody than on the nose. There's also more apricot, a bit of lemon and a nice smooth finish. 88 points.
Mission Hill Family Estate Quatrain 2005. $47.99
Rich and dark nose with cedar, chocolate and somewhat extracted - borderline jammy - red berry fruit. Quite tannic and not so fruity on the mid-palate, but nevertheless reasonably smooth. There's cherry and plum fruit, more tobacco and a mint hint, and then a nice finish with more plum and cherry fruit. It's initially closed, but it soon opens up and gets better. This would be a good candidate for cellaring. 88 points.
Visit the Mission Hill website or contact the company's Ontario agent at 1-800-905-6660 for more information.
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