Community Review

Sandhill Sovereign Opal 2019

Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, BC V.Q.A., Canada

Community Score: 4.5/5
Community Reviews: 11

Price: $17.00

Sweetness: Medium
Alcohol: 11%

Drink: 2020-2022

Bottle size: 750 ml
Winery: Sandhill

Deborah Podurgiel WSET IV Candidate rated this wine as 89/100 with the following review:

The Sovereign Opal grape was developed in the Plant Breeding Program at Agriculture Canada's Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Summerland, British Columbia. The cultivar is said to produce a "high quality wine with citrus, vegetative, herbaceous, and grassy" elements and with the ability to withstand -20 degrees C.

By the 1980s, after many classic vitis vinifera grapes had been planted throughout the Okanagan valley, many wineries decided to pull the Sovereign vines and replace them European varietals. However, The Casorso Family saw great potential for one of the Sovereign varietals, called Sovereign Opal - a cross of Golden Muscat and Marechal Foch - and well-suited to their vineyard in Kelowna.

The free run juice is split into two lots and fermented separately with two different strains of yeast; one strain fosters a tropical profile, while the other a stone fruit. After careful blending to obtain the right flavour profile for Sovereign Opal, the final blend is aged for an additional four months in stainless steel tank prior to bottling.

The wine is floral and fresh on the nose, lip-smacking and mouth-watering with apple, yellow plum, pear, soft orange, lychee, melon and tropical fruit notes with just a hint of spice. Chill and enjoy with mildly-spiced dishes, sushi and pan-fried trout.

Read Natalie's Full Review

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