Tasting Note
I have long been a fan of characterful, authentic gewurztraminer that is not just about fruit and floral prettiness. And this example is one of the most authentic and powerful I have tasted recently. It has great aromatic lift with all kinds of gewurz spice – almost peppery – with lychee, honeycomb and orange peel, plus a slightly dried herbal/earth note perhaps due to low sulphur. It is full bodied, bold and powerful on the palate, very fleshy, warming yet firm and dry, with a natural bitterness on the finish I often find in gewurz. The length is excellent to outstanding. It will age.
Backgrounder
Founded in 2001 by Andy Johnston, Averill Creek is one of the pioneering wineries of Vancouver Island, located in the Somenos sub-region of the Cowichan Valley, on a beautiful southeast facing slope on Mount Provost. The 30-acre vineyard – 12 kms from the coastline – is ringed with old growth forest which creates diverse microclimates. Viticulture follows organic and biodynamic principles, regenerative farming and promoting soil health. Winemaking by Brent Rowlands takes a low intervention approach, using techniques like foot-stomping, whole-bunch fermentation, wild yeast fermentation and lees aging with minimal additives. This gewurztraminer was picked late to ensure phenolic ripeness, then foot trodden and left on skins for 16 hours. It was then pressed off and wild fermented in a concrete egg. Two months before bottling it was racked into older French oak, the bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal SO2.
