Canada’s Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys: (3) Martin’s Lane
Website: https://www.martinslanewinery.com/
One of the leading Okanagan wineries is Martin’s Lane. This is one of the wineries that’s part of a group owned by Anthony von Mandl, called Iconic Wineries of British Columbia. This group includes seven wineries: Mission Hill Family Estate, Cedar Creek, CheckMate, Road 13, Liquidity, Martin’s Lane and Red Barn.
When I first visited the Okanagan, Martin’s Lane was just a hole in the ground, still under construction. Based next door to Cedar Creek, it’s now a beautiful facility, with a gravity flow winery and an impressive hospitality space. The focus is solely on two grape varieties: Pinot Noir and Riesling. Winemaking has been in the hands of Kiwi expat Shane Munn since the beginning.
This visit was with Shane and the group viticulturist, Kurt Simcic, who also hails from New Zealand. The vineyards of all the Mark Anthony group are looked after by a single company called Sebastian Farms. But with the 2024 freeze, Kurt has found himself doing quite a different job, sourcing grapes in Washington State and Oregon, where he spent the bulk of the growing season in 2024.
‘I really enjoyed it,’ he said, ‘and I learned lots. We had a pretty good first crack of it, and this year we are looking to refine this a bit more, and dial-in on the AVAs a bit more.’
Was it easy to source grapes? ‘Yes, it was, I got dragged into it quite late in the piece because I wasn’t the original person, so it was a bit of a scramble, but it was reasonably easy. This year, with Pinot, it is probably easier, knowing where we are heading and what we are targeting. Chardonnay was something we didn’t get completely right last year, so we are looking at improving our sourcing. Good Chardonnay blocks are harder to get than good Pinot.’
If you were going and buying grapes on the spot market in a typical vintage in the Okanagan for Pinot Noir, would equivalent quality grapes be easier to source in Oregon? ‘Yes,’ says Kurt. And cheaper? ‘It’s hard to say, but some of them cheaper. We are going after vineyards with some historical sort of prestige, so they do cost a little bit more.’
Shane Munn adds that the ease of finding Pinot Noir there is that Oregon is 65% Pinot Noir, while in the Okanagan it’s less than 10% of plantings. So there’s a lot more of it. ‘We started by writing our wish list,’ he says. Some people said no, but this year they have their people relationships in place. So it’s a bit easier.
‘It takes building relationship for them to start showing you stuff of value,’ says Kurt.
Back to the Okanagan. When I visited last, Sebastian farms were all certified organic. This has changed. ‘We are no longer certified organic in the valley,’ says Kurt. He says that this a decision from above. ‘I think the southern sites want a few extra tools up their sleeve. Up here our soils have a bit more to them, they are not just sand. There’s some quite good silt and elements of clay.’ So is this about vine nutrition? ‘I think so, yes. Down there on the sands, it’s tough. And then also disease pressure because. Down there all the vineyards are close together. They’ve had issues with powdery and leaf hoppers, and historical issues with red blotch. Powdery is everywhere. Powdery is going be a problem this year. It doesn’t matter where you are in the valley. But I’ve been growing organic long enough to know that I can deal with powdery just fine if I keep my spray regime tight. For me, as it stands, I’m not changing how I’m farming, just the certification has gone.’
How many of their vineyards have been damaged to the point that they need to replant or retrunk? ‘I’ve retrunked everything that I could last year, and that’ll continue because we didn’t get a 100% push from down low. So we’ll get more this year. I pulled out about 10 hectares in the Kelowna area.’
Kurt used to look after Naramata too, but because the Oregon project has taken up so much of his time he is now just looking after Kelowna up to Lake Country. ‘We did have some vineyards where the mortality rate was just too high that we had to pull out, and we’ve replanted all that this year.’ And some of these replantings have given them a chance to put in more Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
‘Last year we had zero crop from our properties here, and we’ve pretty much retrained everything from down below. So it looks like I’ve got 100 plus acres of young vines out there because it’s just that skinny little trunk. But the vines are doing really well. The growth looks healthy. It’s a small crop, but everything’s actually looking really promising, for the recovery. It was a lot of work last year, and it’s kind of tough putting all that work in and getting no fruit. It was quite unusual. But, well worth it when I get around the vineyards here now, they’re looking really good.’
‘Looking at the trunks, there’s so much damage it makes me pleased that we have restarted with something clean, because it sets us up for the future. ‘
And you’re anticipating another year of Oregon, maybe another year after that? ‘Possibly,’ says Shane. ‘It has been a pretty exciting project for us and the demand is there.’
‘Shane and I talk about this quite a bit, says Kurt. ‘Even when our vineyards are back to full production it might be cool to have an offering from Oregon.’
THE WINES
Martin’s Lane Namarata Ranch Riesling 2023 Naramata Bench, Okanagan, Canada
48 h skin contact after crushing. No sulfites until after fermentation stops. 9 g/l acid. This is so delicate and fine with crystalline citrus fruit, showing beautiful detail to the fruit. There’s some grapefruit and some spice, with nice texture. So fine and expressive, with really high acidity, but it’s very fine. 95/100 ($60)
Martin’s Lane Fritzi’s Vineyard Riesling 2023 West Kelowna, Okanagan, Canada
There’s a purity and delicacy here with bright lemon and grapefruit characters. Good concentration but stays light on its feet with amazing precision and purity. Has a lovely lemony edge to the fruit. Very fine. 94/100 ($65)
Martin’s Lane Hyland Vineyard Riesling 2024 Willamette Valley, Okanagan, Canada
14% alcohol. An old vineyard in McMinnville. Jory soils. Had beautiful botrytis that came in quite early and dried out: this has 40% botrytis berries. This is quite beautiful, with incredible spicy detail and real finesse, showing crystalline citrus with amazing mineral tension and some apricot flourish, as well as some dried apricot and crystalline citrus. So fine, delicate, pure and complex with amazing precision. Fits into the Martin’s Lane range beautifully. Some freshness from phenolics, too. 95/100
Martin’s Lane Dehart Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 East Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan, Canada
This is near Tantalus. Mostly 777. This has lovely freshness and texture. There’s a bit of grip and some supple red cherry fruit. Elegant, taut red cherry fruit with a touch of raspberry crunch and nice tannins on the finish. This is very stylish and focused with juicy energy. 94/100 ($105)
Martin’s Lane Naramata Ranch Pinot Noir 2022 Naramata Bench, Okanagan, Canada
There’s some lovely silky strawberry flesh here, as well as red cherry and spice, showing some hints of pepper and dried herbs on the finish. Nice ripeness but stays very taut and refined with amazing fine-grained detail on the finish. So silky and fine, but also has some substance and depth. Very fine. 96/100 ($105)
Martin’s Lane Naramata Ranch Zenith Pinot Noir 2022 Naramata Bench, Okanagan, Canada
A small block, 200 ft higher than the other vineyards here, 100% 667 clone. Two weeks later. 100% whole bunch. Amazing aromatics here with sweet cherries and raspberries as well as some wild strawberry. It’s silky and refined, as well as having some lovely spicy detail and nice greens from the whole bunch, without getting mulchy at all. Very fine and expressive with lovely purity. This is a complete Pinot Noir, combining richness and elegance, as well as perfectly judged structure. 97/100 ($125)
Martin’s Lane Naramata Ranch Hieroglyph Pinot Noir 2022 Okanagan, Canada
This is at the northern tip of the ranch, and it’s south facing. Low vigour in tough soils with tiny bunches. Pommard. 80% whole bunch. This is amazing, and quite distinctive. Peppery, bright and tannic. Lighter in fruit, with firm structure, and elegance despite the edginess. Grainy and detailed with brightness, a red fruit focus, and firm tannins. So expressive. It’s almost Barolo like. 96/100 ($125)
Martin’s Lane Simes Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 South Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan, Canada
More black fruit on the nose, and quite floral and expressive with some dried herbs and then a hint of tar and chocolate. The palate is dense, focused and quite tannic with sweet cherries and plums, showing nice grip, but also some flesh. Nice energy and tension here. Edgy. 95/100 ($105)
Martin’s Lane Fritzi’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 Okanagan Valley, Canada
The only vineyard on the west side of the lake. 28 year old vines, 115 clone. This is a complete Pinot Noir. Powerful, floral, rich, structured and showing great concentration and intensity. Tight in its youth but with lots of potential. Grippy and intense on the finish. So lovely and expressive, but completely unfurled right now. 95/100 ($150)
