Osoyoos Larose Estate Winery

A joint venture between Canada’s Vincor and France’s Groupe Taillan, Osoyoos Larose is a traditional Bordeaux house in the Okanagan.

The vineyard near Osoyoos is planted entirely to Bordeaux red varieties, with merlot the largest planting. The winemaker, with training and experience in Bordeaux, blends only two wines. Le Grand Vin is the red built for long cellaring in the Bordeaux tradition. In 2005, a typical vintage, the blend was merlot (67 percent), cabernet sauvignon (23 percent), cabernet franc (four percent), petit verdot (four percent) and malbec (two percent).

The wine was barrel-aged 18 months (60 percent new barrels) and bottle-aged four months prior to release. The winery’s second wine, Pétales d’Osoyoos, was launched in 2007 (starting with the 2004 vintage). This is a red designed for more immediate consumption, and is becoming a major part of the program.