Tasting Note: This is a stand-up syrah from the Similkameen, in my view the best terroir for this variety in Canada. And Orofino leads the way among other notables, having some of the oldest vines in this narrow mountain valley with benchlands that ooze minerality. This warm vintage edition delivers all the dried meat, pepper, licorice and garrigue you could hope for from the northern Rhone. Very complex aromatics, with dried cherry/cranberry fruit. It is medium bodied, open knit, drying and juicy and very savoury on the finish. Not a fruit bomb as such, but very much an expression of this wild place with a salty, rusty and tannic but not austere finish.  The length is excellent.

Backgrounder: Orofino is a Similkameen Valley trailblazer, founded in 1989 by John and Virginia Weber, and standing forefront among the top handful of producers ever since, with dynamic, energized and well- structured wines. Their vineyards are on prime Cawston Bench sites, where considerable sandy loam topsoil lies two to four feet above solid river stone and gravel. The syrah is primarily from four-acres within the Passion Pit site planted to various clones in 2009.  The 2022 was exceptional a moderate consistent summer followed by a long sunny autumn, allowing full ripening. The grapes were hand harvested, destemmed and lightly crushed into open top fermenters along with 2% Viognier then hand punched 2 times per day until natural fermentation finished. The wine was pressed to French oak 225 litre barrels and concrete tanks, where it aged carefully for 18 months. No fining agents or filtration was use.

Accolades: Gold Medal at All Canadian Wine Awards. Silver Medal at Wine Align National Wine Awards