During my week-long trip to Penticton, I took a one-day side trip to Kelowna to see the Farmer’s Market and to visit Spearhead Winery. I’ve been a fan of their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines for many years. They recently received recognition as WineAlign 2024’s Best Performing Small Winery. I also appreciate the winemaking skill of Grant Stanley who was trained in New Zealand and previously worked at Quails Gate Winery in West Kelowna.

As I drove up to the winery, I passed by their vineyard and was struck as it looked like a moonscape.  There were the posts, drip lines, and wires in the vineyard, but no vines.  The last cold winter snap had completely devastated the vineyard and all the vines were pulled and now need to be replanted.  It was heartbreaking to see.  I hope the next few winters are kinder to our vineyards so that the vines can grow back successfully.

I had a wonderful opportunity to try two wonderful, aged Chardonnays from the 2011 and 2012 vintages. BC wines can be made to age. These wines probably would not normally be poured in a tasting room in BC. But with Spearhead’s WineAlign awards, many of their recent wines were quickly snapped up by wine lovers. So, the winery needed to go into some of their back vintages – a rare treat.  Let me tell you about them.

My Wine Tasting Notes

Spearhead Winery Gentleman Farmer Vineyard Chardonnay 2011 – Estate fruit with 20% aged in new French oak barrels.  Pronounced nose of ripe apples, medium oak and some waxiness.  Dry, medium body, with a lean and soft mouthfeel.  Medium acidity.  Ripe apples and pears with a touch of oak and pepperiness on the finish.  Elegant. 

Spearhead Winery Gentleman Farmer Vineyard Chardonnay 2012 – Estate fruit with 32% aged in new French oak barrels.  This wine has a medium-plus, bright lemon colour.  Lighter aromas of flintiness and apples. A smooth, round, thicker mouthfeel.  Ripe apple flavour along with light butterscotch and sweet spices on the palate. –

Spearhead Winery Golden Retreat Vineyard Pinot Gris 2022 – The grapes were hand-harvested and whole bunch pressed. 90% of the fruit was fermented in stainless steel tank while the other 10% was fermented in 2-year-old French oak barrels.  This wine has a bright lemon colour.  Lighter, fresh stone fruit aromas in the glass.  Very tasty flavours of ripe stone fruit, mostly apricot with some peach, and honey.  Off-dry with a round, thick mouthfeel.  Medium length.  Delicious.

Spearhead Winery Pinot Noir 2022 – Pinot Noir clones 115, 777, and 667 are hand-harvested, then destemmed and cold-soaked for 5-7 days prior to fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Following a gentle press, the wine is aged for 13 months in French oak barrels, of which 25% are new.

It has a medium-minus clear garnet colour.  Light aromas of tart red cherries.  Dry, medium body with a thicker mouthfeel.  A mix of tart and sweet red cherries and sweet spices on the palate.  Some pepperiness toward the finish.  Higher acidity.  Medium length with medium tannins.

Spearhead Winery Pinot Noir Cuvée 2022 – Dijon clones 667, 115, 828, 777, and Pommard are hand harvested and destemmed into small batches. Each batch is cold-soaked for 5-7 days before ambient fermentation. Approximately 3 weeks on skins before gently pressing and moving to French oak barrel for 13 months (40% new oak). The Cuvée blend varies each year depending on the winemaker’s barrel selection.

It has a deeper, clear garnet colour.  Light toasty, floral, ripe red cherry and candied red cherry aromas.  Medium-plus body, soft and smooth, with a lightly round mouthfeel.  Floral plus a mix of tart and sweet red fruit, red cherry, and touches of sweet spices and toast. Medium-plus length.

Spierhead or Spearhead?

Did you notice that the two Chardonnay wines’ labels say “Spierhead”?  The winery was originally called Spierhead Winery as they are located at the head of Spierhead Road.  But I heard that many people kept spelling the winery, “Spearhead”, so why fight it?  And the name changed to Spearhead Winery.  I also heard that there was a conflict with a winery in another country that had a similar name, which pushed the name change.

I checked into my archives and located my initial reviews for the above two Chardonnays.  You can see how the wines changed over time.

Spearhead Winery Gentleman Farmer Vineyard Chardonnay 2011

Spearhead Winery Gentleman Farmer Vineyard Chardonnay 2012

Where Can I Buy These Wines?

All the wines, except for these two Chardonnay, can be purchased online through the Spearhead winery website.

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