Okanagan Trip FINALLY wraps up with a very interesting tasting at Bordertown

As we sachet up to the tasting bar we start out tasting a few white wines and I am taking my usual notes and assigning my usual scores; but these aren't usual scores, these are some of the lowest scores I've given out since moving to the 100-point system a few years ago. While tasting, we are being helped by the owner, a very nice lady who explains to me (without my telling her what my scores were) that they had recently changed winemakers, as their previous winemaker (by his own admission) didn't know anything about making white wines.

Wow.

OK so in fairness, I told her that I would delete all my notes from the whites (all 2014) and only report on the wines from the new winemaker (whites only; the reds reported below are from the previous guy but he made red wines just fine).

I'm hoping that not too many customers sauntered into a wine store, saw a bottle of Bordertown 2014 white wine, and picked one up to try it out. They would have a very bad impression of the winery.

So here we go.

Bordertown 2015 Pinot Gris ($19.00)

Pleasant aromas of orange and tropical fruit. Citrus, bananas and honey on the palate. Lovely. 89.








Bordertown 2015 Gruner Veltliner ($21.00)

Notes of honeysuckle, pineapple and stone fruit. Flavors of peach with pleasing minerality on the finish. 87,









Bordertown 2015 Gewurztraminer ($20.00)

 Aromas of lychee and honeysuckle. Pineapple, banana, apricot and just a hint of spice on the palate. 88.







Bordertown 2015 Chardonnay Unoaked ($27.00)

Light notes of buttered toast and marshmallow. The palate features citrus fruits, a touch of caramel, and well balanced acidity. 88.








Bordertown 2013 Living Desert Red ($40.00)

Red fruit and black cherry on the nose. Lots of mocha, vanilla and dark chocolate flavors. Finishes well. 89.








Bordertown 2014 Living Desert Red ($40.00)

As above, aromas of red fruit and black cherry are up front. The palate is dominated by black cherry, and the tannins are young and firm. 87.







Bordertown 2014 Merlot ($23.00)

Intense nose featuring red and black fruit with some vanilla added in for good measure. Mocha, vanilla and toasty oak on the palate which finishes quite long. 88.

Bordertown 2014 Syrah ($30.00)

Earthy nose which features black pepper, black cherry and some mushroom. Black pepper is really prevalent with black fruit. Juicy. 88.







Bordertown 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon ($29.90)

Pleasing nose of dark fruit with strong mint aromas. Mint continues through to the palate with dark chocolate and blackberry. 88.

So, if you want to try out some perfectly good wine, just avoid the 2014 whites and you (and the winery) will be glad you did. The other stuff is perfectly decent!

That finishes up the Okanagan tour (the actual tour finished up months ago) so there will be some more catch-up entries coming up; and we are less than a month until the 2017 Vancouver International Wine Festival! Lots of great stuff to come!