Bartier Brothers 2022 Illegal Curve 750ml

Winemaker Michael Bartier is a big hockey fan, and this merlot with a dash of cabernet franc is an ode to the curved stick that transposed hockey to another level, something Bartier has been doing with wine in the south Okanagan. The ’22 is deep and dark with savoury, resiny black fruit lined with green pepper streaks and firm tannins. At just under 14%, it is as warm as the Bartier reds get. Youthful and dry in the back end, this needs time in the bottle to come together and let the vintage show through, or a rare-ish grilled steak now.

-- Anthony Gismondi, gismondionwine.com, 2025