A B.C. Wine for the Remembrance Day Weekend

Happy Friday!  What a bizarre week it has been and I am VERY happy it is Friday today! 

After posting 3 reviews on international wines, I wanted to do a review on a BC wine for the Remembrance Day weekend.

My review this week is for Cellar Hand's Punch Down Red. This is the second label from Black Hills Estate Winery of the Nota Bene fame in Oliver, B.C.  The Cellar Hand label is a lower price point than the Black Hills premium wines.  I took a gamble on this wine.  I really enjoy spending time in both BC liquor stores and smaller wine shops and talking to the staff.  I find, more often than not, that I am led in a direction I wasn't intending on and I end up a happy and satisfied customer!  So - I guess it wasn't a gamble after all!

Cellar Hand's Punch Down Red is a blend of 45% Syrah, 28% Merlot and 27% Cabernet Sauvignon.  It is available at Village VQA Wines.  There is a location in Edgemont, Kits and Dunbar.  At $24.90 a bottle, it delivers a nice and balanced blend of flavours.  It has a lovely dark ruby colour and smells of raspberries, black cherries and tobacco leaves with a hint of vanilla. 

On the palate, I taste a really delightful array of red and black fruit flavours along with pepper, vanilla, chocolate and smoke.  Punch Down Red is a very juicy, fruit forward wine with medium tannins and medium acidity so it is a perfect balance of the three grape varieties in the blend.  It is smooth and silky with a nice medium/long finish.  I think this is a great deal for a good quality wine and a much lower price point than one would expect from such a nice balance of flavours. You guessed it - it falls into my Hell Yes! category.

I suggest this wine for Remembrance Day weekend as it is unique and special.  It is a wine to sit and enjoy and reflect over.  I, personally, will be thinking about my Grandad Liston who fought in WWII in the Navy.  I will sip this wine, savour it and be thankful for this life that I have been given and this country that I am so incredibly proud to be a citizen of.

This entry is a dedication to all of the veterans who fought to keep Canada strong and free.  Thank you.