Another New BC Winery for The List - Le Vieux Pin

Still suffering from the result at last night's dismal hockey game, I've headed back to the bottle in between Games 4 and 5. Since it's not a game night, we're straying from this series' designated winery, Red Rooster. I'm going to stick with the BC/Canucks connection for tonight though and Le Vieux Pin is found in the Okanagan, not that far down the Valley from Red Rooster.

Le Vieux Pin (translates as "The Old Pine") first appeared on the BC wine scene in 2006. It's one of those wineries that I know of but that I know very little detail about. Part of the reason why I'm not that familiar with their wines is that they introduced their initial wines at the higher end of the price spectrum in BC. Known for their limited production and very low yields in the vineyard, most of their bottles are priced as those "special event wines" - at least for my pocket book - and I tend to want to know a bit more about wines in that range before I pick one up.

I did get the opportunity to try some of their wines (and some of their sister winery, La Stella's, wines) at an event earlier in the Spring and they were among my favourites that evening. Naturally, it was the $70 Merlot that really wowed me, but I did find their entry level red and white at one of the BC VQA wine shops. I thought it'd be a good time to give one of them a try.

778. 2009 Le Vieux Pin Petit Blanc (VQA Okanagan Valley)

The winery primarily releases varietal wines; however, both the introductory red and white are blends. Le Petit Blanc combines Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and Rousanne - a rather unorthodox blend if there ever was one. As the back label states, "we decided to fuse several unlikely suspects to create a unique, crisp and beautifully aromatic white."

A couple of the articles that I've read about Le Vieux Pin have discussed the winery's goal of showcasing the terroir of their vineyards. With grapes sourced from "various vineyards" (according the the website), this isn't necessarily going to be the wine to give you that sense of location. I think, however, that the wine is indicative of the winery's take on creating a full and bold product. More and more Okanagan wineries are introducing eclectic white blends like Le Petit Blanc but I find that most of them are lighter in body and maybe a little on the fruitier side of the palate.

With only 600 cases of this wine being produced, it's not likely going to be one that is readily found in all sorts of stores for a long time to come. At $22, I'm not sure that it stood out enough for me to run back and grab more.

I will, however, continue to look forward to the opportunity of exploring more of their wines when the opportunity arises. Much like I'm looking forward to tomorrow night's Game 5 - when, hopefully, our boys can regain their composure on the ice.