Black Widow Estate Winery Tasting Notes

Black Widow is one of the weirder spots on the Naramata Bench. It's open whenever the winemaker feels like pouring, and closed most of the time. Honestly, it's not unusual to drive by on a Saturday afternoon in July to find this place closed. Maybe it's an artificial demand thing? Here's what I thought of Black Widow's most recent releases.

Black Widow 2008 Pinot Gris: Orchard fruit on the nose, with strong aromas of pear. Fresh, fruity wine on the palate. Totally average, but not a bad start to this tasting. Short finish. 81 Points.

Black Widow 2008 Gewurztraminer: Perfumed nose showing lychee notes. Off dry on the palate, and nicely balanced. Showing some slight effervescence. Short finish, not bad though. 80 Points.

Black Widow 2008 Oasis: This wine blend is composed of Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Shonburger (tastes like Muscat, but it's German). Off dry. fruity, showing peaches and pears. Nice body weight on the palate. Tart finish. Nice wine, a good summer sipper. 85 Points. Recommended.

Black Widow Hourglass 2008 (Barrel Tasting): A blend of 60% merlot 40% cabernet sauvignon. This wine shows simple fruit aromas of blackberry and currant on the nose. Shows some nice concentration on the palate with nice flavours of cassis, and not too in your face tannins. Decent wine, but expensive for what it is. 82 Points. Not Recommended.

Black Widow Mirage 2008: Hard to say what exactly this is supposed to be. A desert wine for certain, but made completly from the Shonburger grape, and aged in Hungarion Oak, which makes me think this might have been Widow's attempt at making a Tokaji... Scary. This wine is sherried and very sweet. Nutty, with a little oxidation. Short finish, and quite hot. I think there's too much fortification here. 80 Points. Not Recommended.

There we have it. Black Widow. I don't have much to say about this place except don't be upset if it's closed while you're on the bench... it's much to do about nothing. It does have a cool name though.