wine review: Poplar Grove The Legacy 2018, Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada

Ottawa, ON

June 2023

Matt’s review:

Poplar Grove’s The Legacy is a highly esteemed red blend that showcases the greatness achievable in Canada’s Okanagan Valley. A flagship for Poplar Grove and an icon in the Canadian wine scene, renowned as one of the best ‘big reds’ or Bordeaux blends available. A testament to the wineries focus on producing the highest quality grapes and their winemaking team’s expertise to produce top tier wines.

The Legacy 2018 is a blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 17% Merlot, 6% Malbec, and 4% Petit Verdot, representing the best assemblage for the vintage.
This wine is known for its elegance, complexity, and age-worthiness. It exhibits rich flavors, deep concentration, and a harmonious integration of fruit, tannins, and oak. With careful attention to detail throughout the winemaking process, Poplar Grove creates a wine that showcases the exceptional quality of the grapes and the terroir from their meticulously managed vineyards.

2018 vintage exhibits a captivating combination of elegance and refinement, skillfully balancing strength and finesse while showcasing remarkable density and grip. Drawing inspiration from the Grand Crus of Bordeaux and Napa Valley’s ultra premium wines, it maintains a distinctive suppleness and refreshing character that reflects the unique and undeniable terroir of the southern Okanagan Valley. Each component varietal was meticulously cultivated and hand-picked, selected for their individual qualities and subjected to thorough sorting prior to fermentation and extended maceration. Following this rigorous process, the lots were aged exclusively in French oak barriques for 21 months, culminating in the assembly of the final blend, which further matured in-bottle for two years before being released. Always vinified completely dry, with <1g/L RS, this is an absolutely delicious, beautifully crafted premium wine that’s showing wonderfully now and will only gain additional complexity over the next two decades. Enjoy 2024-2038. Tasted June 2023. 94+ points. Matt Steeves – http://www.quercusvino.ca

Available winery-direct in Canada