Mission Hill: The good, the bad, and the really freaking ugly

Ask even the neophyte BC wine drinker, and chances are they will know about Mission Hill Estate Wineries. Their wines are everywhere, and the winery itself is renowned for it's beauty.

The question is, are the wines any good? Well, let's see.


The good:

2005 Mission Hill Select Lot Collection (SLC) Merlot

http://www.missionhillwinery.com/estatewines/wineportfolio/slc.aspx

We've tried several vintages of this wine (05/06/07/08) and all are top-notch. Sure, aging helps, so the '05 was my favorite so far, but you can't go wrong here. Merlot has never been our favorite grape (we are Pinot Noir people first and foremost) but when it's done right, it can be enchanting. This retails for $30.

Rating: 8/10

Oh, and the grounds of this winery really are spectacular. Next time you are in Kelowna, they are really a "must-see". Picturesque and spectacular views.

I was going to post some pictures here from their website, which doesn't have any! Their website is pretty poor, just basic info. Which leads me to:

The bad:

This winery is the BC version of Frass Canyon; for those of you who haven't seen "Sideways", you need to see it....then you'll get the reference.

It's a beautiful, popular winery, that makes really shitty wine. Sorry, I said it, Mission Hill's wines are pretty average at best. I've tried several of them and with the exception noted above, none of them are any good.

And, the winery charges for all tastings, something that a lot really good wineries in the Okanagan don't do. Last time we were up there we didn't even taste there, because the tasting room was expensive and way too crowded.

The ugly:

2009 Mission Hill Perpetua

This was recommended to us by Kim, the proprietor of our local wine shop, and her recommendations are golden. Usually.

I like a big, bold, buttery Chardonnay. This couldn't have been much farther from that. Weak, flabby, and unimpressive, 3/4 of the bottle went down the sink. Absolutely undrinkable. At $40/bottle, this is the MOST overpriced bottle of wine I have ever unfortunately experienced.

Perhaps further aging would have helped it a bit, but I doubt it.

Rating: 3.5/10