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Carl's Top Picks for You...
Your 5-Bottle CODE Clone Connection: $238.79
including tax & deposits
✔️ 2022 Code “Estate Blend” Pinot Noir | 91pts
✔️ 2022 Code “Pommard 91 Clone” Pinot Noir | 90+pts
✔️ 2022 Code “Ancestor 01 Clone” Pinot Noir | 90pts
✔️ 2022 Code “Dijon 115 Clone” Pinot Noir | 92pts
✔️ 2022 Code “Dijon 777 Clone” Pinot Noir | 93pts
Also Available:
✔️ 2022 Code “Estate Blend” Pinot Noir | $39.20 | 91pts
✔️ 2022 Code “Single Clone” Syrah Rosé | $29.94 | 91pts
Arrives to your doorstep between June 26 – July 10, 2024.
Carl's Notes
2022 Code “Dijon 777 Clone” Pinot Noir
BC, Okanagan Valley, VQA Okanagan Falls
100% Pinot Noir | Dry | 13.2% ABV
93pts Carl’s Wine Club | 93pts John Schreiner | 92pts Gismondi on Wine
The Clone 777 is the Rockstar of the four single clone wines this year (again), in my humble opinion! Soooo much complexity, so many layers…and just a perfect balance between all the elements of this wine. The symbiosis between the fruit concentration, the structure and the finish is absolutely flawless. The nose exudes multiple aromas from cedar to tobacco, red fruits like ripe raspberry and blueberry, with a hint of dark cocoa and violets. The mid-palate is rich but balanced. The acidity conveys a stunning freshness but in a subtle manner. Everything is gentle and progressive. I also found a charcoal-like sensation past the mid-palate, similar to the Dijon 115 clone. The palate offers flavours of strawberry, pomegranate, blue plum, mocha, star anise, and chewy tobacco leaves. The never-ending finish also deserves to be mentioned. The classic Okanagan Falls minerality that is showcased in this wine is more than in any other Code wines tasted to date. Well done Shay Code!!!!! (CWC, 22/07/23). 45 cases made.
Pairings: slow braised beef stew and root vegetables, prosciutto pizza
Drink now until 2028
Winery Price: only available in the five-pack
2022 Code “Dijon 115 Clone” Pinot Noir
BC, Okanagan Valley, VQA Okanagan Falls
100% Pinot Noir | Dry | 12.5% ABV
92pts Carl’s Wine Club
This is the more earthy and savoury version of the two Dijon clones and centers on elegance and versatility. The freshness is so satisfying and makes this wine a great partner at the dinner table. On the nose, the aromas open up with fragrant potpourri, violet, wild raspberry and Provencal herbs. The palate displays this lip-smacking acidity that highlights the core and the heartbeat of this wine. The palate is linear and more directional than any of the other three clones, showing great precision. Flavours of raspberry, pomegranate, cranberry jam, crunchy tannins and a great minerality with charcoal-like sensation past the mid-palate. The finish is long and evolves between pink pepper, graphite and savoury undertones. (CWC, March 26, 2024). 45 cases made.
Pairings: stuffed mushroom, roasted quail with mushroom sauce
Drink now until 2030
Winery Price: only available in the five-pack
2022 Code “Ancestor 01 Clone” Pinot Noir
BC, Okanagan Valley, VQA Okanagan Falls
100% Pinot Noir | Dry | 12.5% ABV
90pts Carl’s Wine Club, 92pts Gismondi on Wine
Stylistically, this wine brings me to Germany or Austria, reminding me of high altitude, mountainous and rocky terrain. This Pinot offers a secretive nose of damson plum, redcurrants, lifted up by subtle notes of spring cherry blossom, red licorice, wet forest floor and wild thyme. The wine is smooth and beautifully made with loads of character, offering earthy flavours of wild raspberry, crushed blackberry, licorice, mocha, soy and red pepper. The mid palate is round and not so much pointed towards a high acid structure, but more on rusticity, earthiness and dark fruits. This wine tends to soften up with time, offering more of its fruit component after a long period in your glass. (CWC, March 26, 2024). 45 cases made.
Pairings: roasted turkey, baked brie with fig jelly
Drink now until 2028
Winery Price: only available in the five-pack
2022 Code “Pommard 91 Clone” Pinot Noir
BC, Okanagan Valley, VQA Okanagan Falls
100% Pinot Noir | Dry | 12.8% ABV
90+pts Carl’s Wine Club | 90pts Gismondi on Wine
Soft and round, this wine leads me towards a New World style of wine with great depth, layers and concentration. The nose is exuberant right out of the gate, offering a mix of aromas between red and dark fruits, with a hint of violets and fresh herbs. The highlight of this wine is the mid-palate, where I found soft and silky tannins, mid-level acidity and tremendous flavour concentration. In general, this Pommard 91 clone displays flavours of dark cherry, plum, raspberry, blood orange zest, milk chocolate, blueberry coulis and just a spark of savouriness, which creates balance and an extra layer of complexity. The finish is pristine with a long lasting delivery of fresh white pepper. (CWC, March 26, 2024). 45 cases made.
Pairings: BBQ lamb chops, spicy chicken burger
Drink now until 2026
Winery Price: only available in the five-pack
2022 Code “Estate Blend” Pinot Noir
BC, Okanagan Valley, Okanagan Falls
100% Pinot Noir | Dry (R/S 0.66g/l) | 12.7% ABV
91pts Carl’s Wine Club
The Estate Blend includes all four single-clone Pinot Noirs grown on the small home vineyard in Okanagan Falls (mostly Pommard 91 and Dijon 115). The 2022 Estate Blend might be the most complete and the most expressive Cuvee that Shay Code has made to date. It’s vibrant and lively, earthy and floral, but also fruity and very well balanced. On the nose, the aromas evolve quickly after 30 minutes in the glass: the red cherry and red currant transition towards wet forest floor and potpourri while a hint of vanilla keeps both sides connected. The palate is soft and delicate, the structure is bright, surfing a solid frame of acidity, while 10% new French oak brings a nice touch of complexity. The flavours are crunchy and mirror the aromas with red cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, red velvet, vanilla and a lingering spice on the finish that might come from the Dijon 115 clone. (CWC, 22/07/23). 411 cases made.
Pairings: wild rice stuffed red pepper, grilled pork belly + sweet soy
Drink now until 2028
Winery Price: $34.00 plus tax/dep
Also Available This Week:
2022 Code “Single Clone” Syrah Rosé
BC, Okanagan Valley, Okanagan Falls
100% Syrah | Dry | 12.0% ABV
91pts Carl's Wine Club
A single block, single clone wine showing exactly what it should…precision and terroir definition! Tightly knit and stunningly built, this is the poster child of the potential for Syrah rosé with lip-smacking acidity, an abundance of delicate red berry fruits, rhubarb, cranberry and a great deal of zippy citrus peel on the back-end. It finishes on a flinty mineral note and a long lingering white pepper wave, which brings this rosé to the next level. This is Okanagan Falls terroir on full display…this wine is an absolute GEM. (CWC, 7/09/23). 188 cases made.
Pairings: crab cakes, fish stew
Drink now until 2025
Winery Price: $25.95 plus tax/dep
The Story & People
Code Wines is located in Okanagan Falls, BC. I often research new wineries to see if I can uncover a hidden gem, and I had heard of Code.
I was intrigued by the concept of the winery, which is to focus on clonal differences in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the varietals that showcase these genetic differences well.
I've now had the chance to taste through Code wines for several years and I am very impressed with the quality!
While this winery is new, Shay made sure to draw on some of the best expertise in the valley to plant, grow and make the wines he's made so far.
These wines are perfect for your next get together with wine loving friends, or for a holiday blind tasting. It's a fascinating glimpse into the progression of a young winery that's a rising star amongst the best BC wineries.
With the small batch production, the deep freeze of January 2024 and a recent, tragic vineyard fire at the Code estate, these wines will not be available for long.
It's also a great time to show our support to this winery.
Don't delay on ordering if you're curious!
Cheers,
Carl
The Code family has farming in their genes. Their ancestors farmed in Ireland and brought their craft to Canada's prairie homesteads. Shay Code grew up working on his family farm in Saskatchewan and wanted to return to the land after 32 successful years in the corporate IT industry.
Shay & his wife Harlee purchased the Code estate in 2016, planting it to carefully selected vine clones in 2017. In 2019, they completed their first crush under the tutelage of Dylan and Penelope Roche on the Naramata Bench.
In 2021, they completed their on-site winery building and home, and now live full time in the Okanagan.
The Codes, from left to right: Shay, Thomas, Molly, Harlee and Poppy
