Marichel Vinyards - Naramata B.C Winefest 2009

If we didn't make special mention to Marichel Vineyard we wouldn't be doing this blog any justice.  We made the stop at Marichel towards the end of the day following many tastings at many different vineyards.  Although there were no dissapointments along the way, Marichel Vineyard set a new standard for with their Syrah.  More on that in a moment.  Marichel is one of the newer operations on the Naramata Bench and is not on any of the maps we checked out.  We sort of stumbled upon it in our travels and I am glad we did.  I think Marichel explifies the "quality vrs. quantity" in everything they do.  Right now, you will only find one tasting.  The Syrah.  The 2005 Syrah is sold out and the 2007 Viognier is also sold out.  But don't let this throw you off your Wine Tasting game.  We tried alot of Syrah throughout the tour, and have quite honestly never tasted anything like this.  Described on their web site http://www.marichel.ca/: 

“Hand-harvested on October 24, 2006 at about 27º Brix, the 2006 Syrah is an intense, concentrated wine with depth and power. Aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels, this fine wine is drinking beautifully now and will only the improve in bottle for at least 10 years."

As a small winery (by design) the emphasis, speaking with Elizabeth Roskell, one half of husband and wife ownership, is on the product.  To maintain their personal approach to the fermenting process and not lose touch with the their customers.  She was making reference to the larger vineyards that have grown so much, they have become more of a corporate enterprise that a truely family run business.  Elizabeth was gracious enough to allow us sample the grapes from the vine and even walk us through the process from vine to bottle.  Very impressive.  We also learned a bit about the wine region in our discussion:

The Naramata Bench in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley is a unique grape-growing area, unlike any other on wine region on earth. Rich, ripe, full-bodied red and white wines grown at 50 degrees latitude? It happens nowhere else on the planet.

If you are coming into the region for a tasting tour of your own, your trip would not be complete without a stop at Marichel Vineyard.  You can find them off Naramata Road at 1016 Littlejohn Road.

Travel Images www.westshoregalleries.ifp3.com