Okanagan Tour, Part Eight! Day Two, off to Cedarcreek!

So after our planned dinner at Quails' Gate got postponed due to the power outage I mentioned in my last post, we headed off to the B&B we had booked for a couple of nights. This was the first time I had ever stayed at a B&B....always thought it would be odd to stay in a stranger's house, and have them cooking our breakfast. When we arrived we were asked to take off our shoes and put on flip flops to walk around the house (not that impressed by that) and we noticed that the owners of the house were an older Asian couple who didn't speak much English. Not a great first impression, honestly. Having said that, though, it turned out just fine. They couldn't have been nicer (they must have apologized 100 times for the fact that the power was out the first night, as if they could do anything about it), they spoke enough English that communication wasn't a problem, and the breakfast they prepared for us was plentiful and tasty. It was a perfectly pleasant experience, although I'm still not sure we'd do it again. I guess we'll see.

Anyway, by this time we already had halfway filled the coolers that we brought to keep the wine in. Given the incredibly hot temperatures, we couldn't leave wine in the car even for a few hours. It didn't take a genius to figure out we were going to have some problems fitting all the wine we were going to buy this trip into the coolers, so we were probably going to have to adjust our wine buying habits a bit. Yeah, right, not so easy.

So we get up, have breakfast and head over to the other side of the lake to Cedarcreek, for a private tasting and lunch. We were greeted by the lovely Eliana, the Manager of the wine shop, who would guide us through the tasting.

Being members of their Platinum Club meant we had already tasted quite a few of these wines previously. In the interest of brevity, I won't repeat the reviews, but here are the links:

Cedarcreek 2013 Gewurztraminer; Tasting Notes
Cedarcreek 2013 Platinum Block 3 Riesling: Tasting Notes
Cedarcreek 2014 Rose; Tasting Notes
Cedarcreek 2012 Platinum Desert Ridge Meritage Tasting Notes

Now on to the stuff I have not previously reviewed:


Cedarcreek 2013 Ehrenfelser ($16.49)


Hints of tropical fruits including pineapple and guava on the nose and palate. Dry with balanced acidity. 86.








Cedarcreek 2013 Platinum Block 5 Chardonnay ($26.09)

Lightly oaked. Fruity and delicious, with notes of baked apple, almonds and a touch of butter. 89.










Cedarcreek 2012 Pinot Noir ($21.69)


Lovely floral aromas with some strawberry and plum as well. Strawberry continues through to the palate, joined by some blueberry and vanilla on the finish. Excellent value at this price. 89.







Cedarcreek 2012 Merlot Cabernet ($17.39)

61% Merlot
25% Cab. Sauv.
8% Cab. Franc
6% Malbec

Ridiculously good value. Ridiculous. Blackberry, black cherry, violets and cassis on the nose, and palate. Joined by a little bit of toasty oak. For around $20 with tax, this should be everyone's "everyday Red". 90.



Cedarcreek 2012 Platinum Desert Ridge Merlot ($34.79)

Aromas of cloves, blackberries, vanilla and a bit of licorice. Black cherry really comes through on the palate. Absolutely lovely now and will only improve with some patience and careful cellaring. 91-93.




To end of the tasting, a special treat: a taste of the special fortified Platinum M.


Cedarcreek 2009 Platinum "M" ($46.79)

This vintage of their "Madeira-style" wine (the only one made in the Okanagan) is 100% Pinot Blanc. Intense aromas and flavors of Brazil nuts, honey and apricots. Thick and viscous. Not sweet like an icewine but great to pair with dessert or a cheese plate. Oh, and I can testify that it's perfect to use in a beurre blanc sauce. 88.



Off to lunch where my wine club concierge said she had booked us at the "best table in the house". She was not just whistling-dixie, lemme tell you.

What a view. Lunch was fabulous, and since I was told they had recently put library wines on the menu (it's a special wine menu, you have to ask for it), why not try one?

They brought it over and it was.....awful. My wife and I both thought it was bad, but since it was not cheap we thought we better call Eliana over and get her opinion to make sure that our palates had not deserted us; but she quickly confirmed it was oxidized. We decided to try another bottle, and that one was just a little bit better ;-)

Cedarcreek 2002 Platinum Reserve Pinot Noir ($80.00 at restaurant)

Incredibly complex and layered. Cherries, mushrooms and cola mingling on the nose. The palate is dominated by flavors cherry, plum and some more of that lovely cola. Finishes long and smooth. An absolute treat. 95.

So good that we took another one of them home, and opened it up last night as we hosted a dinner party with a couple very good friends. It was the main event of an evening dominated by a bunch of spectacular wine (full reviews on all that stuff to come!).

What a great way to start our second day of the tour. What's next? Perhaps the most pleasantly surprising tasting of the trip: Summerhill Pyramid Winery!