Poplar Grove Inaugurates Its Library Collection
Limited amounts of the Naramata Bench winery’s three flagship wines from the 2014 vintage will be available for purchase alongside their previously released counterparts.
Poplar Grove, the Naramata Bench winery whose award-winning wines have helped put the Okanagan Valley on the map, is once again proving itself a step ahead with the release of its inaugural Library Collection. Inspired by proprietor Tony Holler’s own adventures in wine collecting, as well as a stirring visit to the Rhône Valley’s legendary Château de Beaucastel, the collection is the first of its kind in the Okanagan and one Holler thinks can help push the region forward. “I’ve always believed a winery should have a cellaring program where wines mature and guests can visit to taste and learn about older, rare vintages,” he says.
Consisting of three exactingly cellared wines from the 2014 vintage—varietal cabernet franc and merlot, as well as The Legacy, the winery’s flagship bordeaux blend—the Library Collection gives drinkers a chance to experience the aging potential of top-tier Okanagan Valley wines without the hassle of housing them themselves. Available for purchase alongside these mature wines are their current-vintage counterparts, the 2020 cabernet franc and merlot, as well as The Legacy from the 2018 vintage.
The Legacy in particular shows Poplar Grove winesʻ potential to age, as well as the influence of weather on vintage variation and winemaking decisions. The Legacy 2014, packaged in a sleek, medallion-emblazoned variation on the winery’s standard bottles, is cabernet franc dominant, and because of the hot weather the year it was produced, the relative litheness of the grape in comparison to the typical star, cabernet sauvignon, means the ripe flavours don’t get sloppy in maturity. On the other hand, The Legacy 2018, made in one of the coldest vintages in recent memory, is predominantly cabernet sauvignon, which provides necessary tannic structure but not overripe or saccharine fruit flavours.
Poplar Grove’s Library Collection is available for purchase online starting November 1, 2024. From 1 to 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays from November 8 to December 21, guests of the winery will be able to reserve spots in The Library Collection Experience, a 60-minute seated tasting where up to eight guests can enjoy Library Collection wines alongside the newer vintages.
