Tasting - C. C. Jentsch Cellars

Name: C.C. Jentsch Cellars

Variety: 42% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Franc, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot

Region: Okanagan Valley, B.C.

Country: Canada

Year: 2016

Price: $20 CAD

Winery Review: The wine delights with its deep garnet hue. Rich aromas of ripe red berries and hints of chocolate overlap with hints of cigar box. A sweet fruit attack with black plums, intense mid-palate sweetness, and a very fine supple and sensuous finish. Just a touch of oak compliments this fruit driven, easy drinking wine. 

My Review: This week I'm in Vancouver. I traveled to the local farmer's market and found a quaint little wine shop on the pier. They had a pretty impressive collection of wines from floor to ceiling. The wines were organized by country. I wanted to try something from a local vineyard so I gravitated towards the Canadian wines. There were TONS to choose from. I was surprised at all the variety they had. Typically in Oklahoma, you get some bastardized version of wine that's all sweet and not really all that good. In Canada, they have just about everything you could want. I decided to try a red blend since most of the readings this week were about that topic. I picked out a cabernet merlot. It was around $20 Canadian. However, when I looked it up online, it goes for about $12 US. I imagine since the farmers market was a tourist place, they had a high markup on everything. When I first opened the bottle it had an overwhelming musty smell. The first thing that came to mind was old books. Not a smell I would typically want in my food/beverages, it was mildly comforting to smell this in the wine. It made me want to curl up with a glass and sit in the corner and read a good book. I could also smell the hints of cigar box the winery description mentioned. It was very earthy and smoky. It had a very strong alcohol taste initially. I had to try it a couple times to get past it. Once I did, the wine had this odd quality that made the bottom of my tongue tingle. Not quite sure what that was about. The wine did have hints of cherry and plum, although it tasted like it was burnt fruit. And it was very peppery. I did not try this with food. I wasn't a huge fan of this wine. Maybe I'll be able to pick up a few more bottles before we head home and will find something more to my liking. However, it was fun to try something local.