Canada’s Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys (4) Cedar Creek
Website: https://www.cedarcreek.bc.ca/
Cedar Creek is another important Okanagan winery that’s part of the Mark Anthony group, along with Mission Hill, Checkmate and Martin’s Lane (the official name for this winery grouping is Iconic Wineries of British Columbia and the seven wineries involved are Mission Hill Family Estate, Cedar Creek, CheckMate, Road 13, Liquidity, Martin’s Lane and Red Barn).
The last time I visited Cedar Creek, Taylor Whelan was the winemaker, but he’s since left to become head winemaker for the whole group. So I tasted with new winemaker Andrés Gálvez Pizarro, who is originally from Chile.
In 2024 Cedar Creek didn’t get any grapes from the Okanagan, but they did harvest some grapes from Oregon. As a result, they put 150 tons of Oregon fruit through the winery, when their normal vintage might be 600 tons, with the biggest years reaching 900 tons.
Sebastian Farms – the company that runs all the Mark Anthony vineyards in the Okanagan – harvested no grapes in 2024. In the southern part of the valley they had to replant a lot of the vineyards. In the north, they have mainly been re-trunking, and they only lost one or two blocks at Cedar Creek. And 2025? ‘It’s looking very good,’ says Andres. ‘Hopefully we can get 50% of yields back this year.’
From Oregon, Cedar Creek bought Pinot Noir and a bit of Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. I didn’t try any of these wines on this visit.
THE WINES
Cedar Creek Platinum Sauvignon Blanc 2023 South Kelowna Slopes
13% alcohol. Estate grapes, young vines. Wonderful aromatics with lovely sweet citrus fruit and some passionfruit richness. Some grapefruit, too. Lovely citrus palate with a nice nettle leaf and tomato leaf green notes. High acidity, with an almost explosive finish. So multidimensional and expressive. 94/100
Cedar Creek Aspect Collection Riesling 2022 Okanagan Valley
Acidity can be very high so they foottread to get some potassium from the skins for 12 h, then press. Inoculated. TA is still 9 g/l and pH 2.85. Really vivid aromatics with taut lime fruit and a touch of green and passionfruit tropicality. The palate shows great concentration with a lovely leafy edge to the powerful citrus fruit, showing amazing layers and complexity. Wild ferment for three months and then ageing in large-format oak. Beautiful texture to this wine, with about 6 g/l rs to balance the acidity. This is really good. 94/100
Cedar Creek Platinum Chardonnay 2022 Lake Country, Okanagan
Cool site, pink granite, rocky site. Wild ferment after settling for a few hours, or if not, next day. Just small oak. 8 barrels made, four of which did malolactic. Wonderful aromatics here: tight, some nice reduction spanning matchstick to a touch of cabbage and vinyl, as well as pure citrus fruit. The palate is powerful but fresh with a fine spicy framing to the bold citrus and pear fruit, with a touch of aniseed and some subtle nuttiness. Crystalline and detailed – a beautiful cool-climate Chardonnay. 95/100
Cedar Creek Platinum Pinot Noir 2022 South Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan
Fruit from two different vineyards: Symes and Home Block. Wild ferment, 70% fermented in concrete, 30% in stainless steel. Tannins can be challenging here, so they don’t work too much and use a watering can after fermentation is going. Floral and expressive with black cherry fruit, and some wild strawberry. Nicely textured with a core of smooth sweet fruit and then some spicy framing and a bit of grippy structure. Shows nice fruit presence and some elegance, but also has some substance. Could develop over the next few years, but already delicious. 95/100
Cedar Creek Aspect Collection Block 4 Pinot Noir 2022 South Kelowna Slopes
Glacial alteration with low clay content. 115, 667, 777 clones. This block is further up from the lake, past block 2 (which has more clay). The canopies in Block 4 are smaller and the berries are smaller, so managing tannins is an issue, and they have been picking a little earlier because of this. Fermented in 5 ton concrete vats, 25 days on skins, then pressed to barrel, 35% new oak. This is a remarkable wine with a powerful core of sweet black cherry fruit with some liqueur-like richness. It’s concentrated and structured with some silkiness and some substantial tannins cloaked by the fruit. Has lovely spicy complexity on the finish. Really fine with a lovely flow, and should age well in the near term, and perhaps longer. 96/100
Cedar Creek Platinum Haynes Creek Cabernet Franc 2022 Okanagan
From Osoyoos on the east side of the lake. A few years ago Cedar Creek were making quite a lot of Bordeaux blends, but switched more to reds, although they kept making Cabernet Franc and Syrah. With all the cold, the resistant Cabernet Franc has a bright future in the valley. 28 days on skins, then 14 months in French oak. They have tried puncheons but find small oak works best. This is beautiful, supple and elegant with fresh, floral, elegant cherry, strawberry and even blackcurrant fruit. The tannins are present but soft, and there’s beautiful structure here. This is a great example of Cabernet Franc with lovely varietal character, and some grainy chalkiness on the finish. Quite brilliant. 95/100
