Current Release Wines from 1 Mill Road
We ship Canada wide. Shipments leave the Naramata Wine Vault weekly on Mondays, with order cut off taking place the Friday prior. Shipping costs vary according to province and are calculated at check out.
2022 Pinot Noir Rosé 6 Pack
We are proud to release 1 Mill Road’s inaugural Pinot Noir Rosé, with grapes grown on the East Kelowna Slopes, one of BC’s newest Sub-GI’s. Produced from a single 11-acre vineyard planted exclusively to 5 clones of Pinot Noir and picked at optimal ripeness thanks to an incredible 2022 growing season. This Rosé is vibrant pale salmon in appearance, with a delicate nose showing aromas of rose petals, orange peel, wild raspberries, and sea spray. The palate is refreshing with savoury notes and an acid line that balances this wine’s subtle fruit sweetness. A chalky undertone creates a rounding cadence on the palate. The finish is intriguing, refined and bone dry with great persistence.
“An exciting sign of what’s to come from 1 Mill Road. Fresh and pure in style with harmony and a silky texture that’s sure to impress, this delivers refreshment and refinement. Highly recommended.”
Christopher Waters, 92 points
“The bone-dry wine is silky in texture, with a pleasant mix of red grapefruit and red berry flavours with persistent acidity, exuding an overall refinement in its close.”
Decanter, 92 points
“A fine textural backbone. This wine is dry but the finish lingers on the palate. This is an excellent food wine.”
John Schreiner, 92 points
“This release reflects a new direction for the brand. It’s all about restraint, reflecting the North Okanagan terroir of the East Kelowna Slopes. There’s a lovely purity and balance, bone dry without being austere, in a style that is immensely moreish. The Okanagan needs more brands like 1 Mill Road and more people like Ben and Katie. I eagerly await the next chapter.”
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THE VINEYARD
This wine is produced from a single 11-acre vineyard planted exclusively to 5 clones of Pinot Noir. The vines grow in Rutland soil that consists of up to 60% stone mixed with gravel and glacial deposits. The site sits on a premium west facing vineyard, receiving continuous cooling breezes from the South which help to retain natural acidity.
THE VINTAGE
2022 presented a long, cool growing season that was perfect for 1 Mill Roads winemaking varietals. The drawn-out season allowed incredible natural acid retention and flavour developments in the fruit. This Pinot Noir was picked at optimum ripeness, nursed to juice, and tucked safely away in the Wine Vault before the early, abrupt winter hit the Okanagan.
THE WINEMAKING
These grapes were hand-picked, whole bunch pressed and fermented cool in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. We allowed 18 percent of this wine to ferment to dryness in a seasoned French oak barrel with bi-weekly lees stirring for 3 months before blending. This added additional layers of complexity as well as fine textural elements to an already thought-provoking rosé.
THE WINE
Vibrant pale salmon in appearance, expressing a delicate and floral nose with aromas of rose petals, orange peel, white pepper, and sea spray. Wild raspberries and strawberries further compliment and brighten the wine’s aromatic complexity. On the palate, this wine is light-medium bodied and refreshing with distinct savoury notes. The acid line balances the subtle fruit sweetness. With flavours similar to the aromas, this wine also has a slight chalky undertone that creates a rounding cadence on the palate. The texture is smooth and silky, with a slight grip from the tannins that come from the Pinot Noir grape skins and barrel fermentation. The finish is intriguing, refined, and bone dry with great persistence.
Harvest: September 28, 2022
Clones: Pommard, Swan, 115, 828 and 777
pH: 3.26
TA: 6.01
RS: 0.3
Alcohol: 12.2%
2021 Block Two Pinot Noir
Block Two is a blend of our most premium Pinot Noir from our Home Block vineyard along with a nearby vineyard site. Located just above our Home Block site, this additional vineyard is also on a heavy glacial silt bench and planted to Dijon clone 115.
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THE VINEYARD
This year, Block Two is a combination of Home Block and an additional Pinot Noir coming from a vineyard located just above the Home Block site. The Home Block is Naramata Bench personified. Perched on glacier lake-formed bluffs above Okanagan Lake, the crescent shaped site tilts SW, maximizing heat units and allowing air flow. Set into an amphitheater of old growth sage, soils are silt and loam with calcareous elements similar to some of the best vineyards in the world. Planted in 2013 to a single clone, Dijon #115. The additional vineyard is also on a heavy glacial silt bench and planted to Dijon clone #115.
THE WINEMAKING
The fruit was treated slightly different than most years. There was a need to move through fermentation quicker than normal as the fruit was stressed. Typically, stressed fruit can make some of the best vintages…it’s all how it’s managed through to bottle. We chose not to add any whole cluster to the ferments, which in typical years, would be 20-25%. The wine went to barrel in traditional 228L french oak and the french oak tanks with an average of 20% new oak. The two vineyards that supplied the fruit were kept separate during harvest and during barrel aging; only getting blended together just prior to bottling.
THE VINTAGE
An early and dry spring followed up with incredibly intense heat in June which set in motion, one of the strangest vintages we’ve been a part of. The Okanagan also experienced a summer of wild fires and diminished summer sunlight due to smoke at a time when we needed heat units to form higher degree days allowing for ripening. Hot and tough conditions equals less fruit, lower yields and ultimately less juice to make wine.
THE WINE
Red cherry, simple spice and anise. Fine oak and a savoury texture melds itself together with a long and bright silky finish.
Mixed 6-Pack
2020 Home Block Pinot Noir
Grown on the Okanagan Valley’s heavier silty soils of the Naramata Bench, this vineyard site maximizes southwest exposure and the close proximity to Okanagan Lake allows for long days and a long growing season. Handpicked and hand sorted, the grapes are fermented and aged in beautiful wooden French oak tanks in the Naramata Wine Vault.
SOLD OUT (Next Release Spring 2024)
View Technical Details
THE VINEYARD
This is Naramata Bench personified. Perched on glacier lake-formed bluffs above Okanagan Lake, the crescent shaped site tilts SW, maximizing heat units and allowing air flow. Set into an amphitheatre of old growth sage, soils are silt and loam with calcareous elements similar to some of the best vineyards in the world. Planted in 2013, we chose to showcase a single clone, Dijon #115.
THE WINEMAKING
This project is all about focus: Pinot Noir. Hand picked in two passes October 7 & 15th, then hand sorted and fermented as whole berries with 25% as whole clusters. The main ferment was completed in 2200L French Oak tanks and then aged in these plus 20% new French oak barrels. Unfiltered and unfined.
THE VINTAGE
After a slow start from a cooler spring, the Okanagan summer delivered solid heat units into September. Veraison was somewhat delayed which improved the fruit quality as the slower ripening avoided high sugars/alcohols and delivered full phenolic ripeness. Fortunately we completed harvest on October 15th right before a freeze event a week later.
THE WINE
A balanced wine with ripe raspberry, dried cranberry and cocoa flavours with notes of clove combined with fresh vibrancy from the natural acidity. Decidedly elegant with lovely complexity, fine tannins and lingering finish. When the wine hits your palate, it engages all your senses like a solid handshake from a good friend (post Covid).
Pinot Noir Mixed 6-Pack
The best way to explore Pinot Noir is to taste vineyard specific wines. Enjoy a mixed 6 pack of our new releases from two vineyard sites, both located on the Naramata Bench.
- 3 bottles from our Home Block vineyard – 93 Pts John Schreiner
- 3 bottles from Block Two vineyard – 92 Pts John Schreiner
Pinot Noir Mixed 12-Pack
The best way to explore Pinot Noir is to taste vineyard specific wines. Enjoy a mixed 12 pack of our new releases from two vineyard sites, both located on the Naramata Bench.
- 6 bottles from our Home Block vineyard – 93 Pts John Schreiner
- 6 bottles from Block Two vineyard – 92 Pts John Schreiner
2020 Home Block Pinot Noir Magnum
A 1.5 liter magnum of our 2020 Home Block Pinot Noir.
A balanced wine with ripe raspberry, dried cranberry and cocoa flavours with notes of clove combined with fresh vibrancy from the natural acidity. Decidedly elegant with lovely complexity, fine tannins and lingering finish. When the wine hits your palate, it engages all your senses like a solid handshake from a good friend (post Covid).
93 Points – John Schreiner
SOLD OUT
Fall 2023 Release: Chardonnay & Block Two Pinot Noir
As these wines rest safely in barrel, we hope you’ll follow along in our journey and join the allocation club or list for updates and first access to our releases.
“We are dedicated to capturing the true essence of vineyard and terroir in our wines. Each vintage, our wines are made with intent and great care in every step of the process. When you taste 1 Mill Road you will experience the energy of a passion, a time, and a place.”
