382 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 79 PART 3 MAY 2021
QUAIL’S GATE OLD VINES FOCH 2018
BC VQA Okanagan Valley #639625 $25.99
Maréchal Foch is an unusual grape with a cult following in British Columbia.
It is a hybrid bred in France in the early 19th century when vineyards
were in recovery from the phylloxera grape louse that had destroyed most
traditional vinifera plants. Its original technical name is “Kuhlmann 188-2”,
named after the breeder (also my wife’s maiden name), but it was renamed
for the French WWI general. The story is that Foch’s troops suffered heavy
casualties when he threw them into battle trying to cross no man’s land, and
as the grape (which is a teinturier with both red skins and flesh) has juice
with a deep, red, blood-like colour, this seemed appropriate. It no longer
grows in France, but due to its cold-hardiness, it is established in parts of
Canada and the northern United States. Some of the Quail’s Gate vines were
planted as early as 1978. This wine is all black fruit: blackberry, black currant,
black plum on the nose and black plum and black cherry on the palate
mixed with smoky oak, tobacco leaf, bitter chocolate and some vanilla. It
has a long, smooth and rich finish. As the winery says, it is a good food wine
to try with grilled or BBQ meats, pizza or other full-flavoured fare.
PENLEY ESTATE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2019
Coonawarra, Australia #168176 $21.99
Rated 91 points by Wine Spectator, this wine is inky dark, and while still
young is complex and nuanced. It opens with black currant, sweet black
cherry, plum, cigar box and bitter cocoa aromas and follows on the palate
with the same black fruit, mixed with blueberry, Earl Grey tea and some
vanilla leading to a long, slightly peppery finish with bright, soft tannins.
Again, it is still young and can age several more years to maturity. Now that
the BBQ season is upon us, this is another ideal BBQ wine with a burger or
steak with blue cheese and mushrooms, or again with grilled vegetables on
pasta.
ENDNOTE
1. “Saint Vincent, the Patron Saint of Winemakers”,
Chablis Wines, online: <www.chablis-wines.com/
discover/bourgogne-traditions/la-saint-vincenttournante/
la-saint-vincent-tournante,1810,7646.
html>.
/la-saint-vincent-tournante
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