Concentrated, supple, savoury.
Painted Rock recently celebrated the successful opening of the new tasting, event and wedding center on their stunning Skaha Lake estate.
This premium red is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec, which oozes rich molten chocolate, cherries, violets, black raspberries, cassis and vanilla aromas with licorice, graphite and savoury leathery undertones. It's fleshy and supple in the mouth with a fine, chalky texture and concentrated dark fruit layered with sunbaked earth, dark mocha, tobacco and plenty of acidity (thanks to the cooler 2011 vintage) to balance. It has incredible length but will benefit from time.
Buy three. Open one now and decant, hold another for 6 months or a year to soften up and come together and cellar the third for 5-15 years.
©copyright 2014 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - March 24th, 2014

Substantial, complete, sophisticated. It's hard to say Painted Rock's wines are getting more mature as the vines do (they are now well over a decade old) but that would suggest they had improvements to make, and that's not the case. They make honest, complete and well postured wines, like this substantial Red Icon (44% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc, 16% Petit Verdot, 12% Cabernet Sauvingnon and 7% Malbec). Expect archetypal Bordeaux aromas of graphite and black currents, leather, dark chocolate, toasted spices and undertones of charred orange peel. The palate is youthful, the tannins still need time to integrate, but it is smooth, balanced and complex.
Open now and decant, or hold for up to 10 years to allow it to coalesce more.
©copyright 2019 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - March 22nd, 2019

Captivating, complete, sophisticated.
Painted Rock's premium red is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec. This vintage is 31%, 21%, 11%, 16%, 19% respectively. It is a complete and ponderous wine, with earthy and savoury characters. The aromas are a fusion of blackened spices, grilling meat, pencil shavings and leather, balanced with the freshness of black currents and plums. A melange of sweet cassis, black cherry and forest berry flavours meld with spice and vanilla on the palate. The tannins are powdery, there is impressive concentration, complexity and sophistication in this wine.
Open now and decant, or hold for up to 10 years to allow it to coalesce more.
©copyright 2017 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - March 28th, 2017

Captivating, complex, powerful.
Painted Rock's premium red is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec. It is a captivating fusion of plum ripe black berries and cherry aromas with licorice, vanilla, mocha, baking spices and a hint of pepper. The palate is supple with powdery ripe tannins throughout. The fruit is juicy and is layered with toasted spice and espresso flavours. Youthful still, but boasting great intensity, powerful structure and impressive persistence.
Open one now and decant, hold another for a year to coalesce more and cellar the third for 5-15 years.
©copyright 2015 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - December 9th, 2015

Continuity, complete, sophisticated. I've found Painted Rock to be the most marked of the Okanagan wineries, when it comes to vintage variation. The wines truly show what the year was like. For example, 2015 being a hot year, these wines are robust and ripe, muscular in style. Now, that doesn’t mean the wines are any less elegant; they are simply more. Additionally, the vines are now over a decade old, and while there's always been a sense of continuity with this estate, Painted Rock's direction grows more notable each year. Aptly named, their premium Red Icon is an amalgamation of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The nose delivers cassis and plum cake, sage and sweet spices, mocha, pencil shavings and vanilla. Intense and supple, but not lacking freshness, it has an archetypal Bordeaux character. Toasted spice, cocoa, dark forest berries and graphite flavour the palate. It is lengthy and complex--another exemplary rendition of this blend.
As reviewed in Vines Magazine, Spring 2018
Open now and decant, or hold for up to 10 years to allow it to coalesce more.
©copyright 2018 Daenna Van Mulligen
Wine Scores Reviewed - July 11th, 2018