Mission Hill 2017 Quatrain 750ml

Winemaker Darryl Brooker has been reshaping Quatrain since the John Sines era by upping the syrah content to give this wine more of a purpose in the Legacy range. In 2017 the blend was 44/25/24/7 blend of syrah, merlot, cabernet franc, and cabernet sauvignon, grown mostly in Osoyoos with a ten percent addition from the Oliver region. It spends 18 months in French oak barrels. Like 2016, there is a spicy, aromatic nose with rich, black fruit and light meaty undercurrents. A smaller crop with higher intensity has given 2017 a power over finesse signature for many, but that savoury spice is more Okanagan than Barossa or Southern France. Should age forever.

Score: 91 points -- Anthony Gismondi, gimondionwine.com, 2020