Tasting Notes – I have long been a fan of Hillside’s merlots, and this latest addition to the single-vineyard range is yet another reason why.  There is something about winemaker Kathy Malone’s style that transports me straightaway to right bank Bordeaux. And remember, as a still-standing reviewer of top Bordeaux in their heyday of the 80s and 90s, I do remember and admire that style.  This is impressive, rich yet poised, both texturally and thanks to the trimmings of graphite and herbs on the nose. There is also classy warmed raspberry trifle with custardy vanilla and then this whole other savoury, sage dimension. It is full bodied, fairly dense and smooth with 14.2% abv heat, and crusty but not harsh tannin. The length is excellent. Age it until 2029, will live well into the 2030s.

Backgrounder – Hillside is one of the original Naramata/Okanagan wineries with 3.5 acres of apricot orchard first transformed to vineyard in 1984 by Czech emigrees Vera and Bohumir Klokocka (pictured below). I like the sense of history here, of Euro classicism, which translates in the wine style through the hands of winemaker Kathy Malone.  She employs traditional techniques, especially to the red wines, involving open top fermenters, French and American oak barrels, and a very hands-on winemaking approach. The Occhi Dolci Vineyard is perched at the foot of Munson Mountain above the shoreline of Lake Okanagan – below the almost famous Penticton sign. It is owned and managed by Pat Bowen and Carl Bogdanoff, retired scientists from the Summerland Research and Development Centre, who have been extremely influential in Okanagan viticulture over the years. Occhi Dolci refers to “a lovely view, but also a flirtatious look”.  The 2022 growing season was warm and consistent, with the highest recorded Growing Degree Days. A 12-day cold soak, then controlled fermentation was followed by extended maceration (30 days total), malolactic fermentation in oak, and a further 16 months barrel maturation in French oak (42% new).