Up and at ’em for an early morning appointment at Tantalus! We have been here several times, and we usually find ourselves thinking the same things: Good Riesling, VERY good Old Vines Riesling, OK Chardonnay, good Pinot Noir, and PERFECT (or close) Icewines. Let’s see if this visit would bring the same conclusions.
First up, the worst news possible….for now, at least, they have discontinued making Icewine. Devastating news. Of all the wines I have ever reviewed for this blog, only two have ever received a perfect 100-point score, and their 2015 Riesling Icewine was one such wine.
Let’s see how the new stuff stacks up!
So, a bit of a flip this time; we thought this was their best Chardonnay ever, and the Pinot Noir didn’t measure up to past vintages. The Rieslings held up as expected. Make no mistake, this is a house of Riesling and nothing is ever likely to change that.
SAFETY SCORE: 8.5
You have to go into the winery to check in, and then to buy your wine at the end. The tasting area is outside and is social distanced. At the time we visited, they were also taking walk-ins, and some of the tastings were set up inside. Shortly after our visit, I read on Instagram that they were discontinuing walk-ins.
Up next: The Okanagan Trip wraps up with one epic tasting at the New House the Hatch Built (TM), Black Swift Vineyards!
I also have tons of random stuff to report on….also, will finally delivery the long-awaited third (and final) installment of my 2019 BC Rosé report…..and also, we had a small gathering here last weekend to celebrate our friend’s birthday, and some pretty awesome wine was consumed. Stay tuned!
Confessions of a Huge Wine-R 