Horseshoe Found - First Four Vintages

Similkameen Valley Pinot Noir Shows Its Potential

For Michaela and Pavel Horak, like many others, owning a winery began with a wish to change lifestyle and a random drive past a piece of ground that they fell in love with. In their case, the small parcel of land was in Cawston in the Similkameen Valley and the time was about eighteen years ago.

Both were professionals from non-farming backgrounds in Czechia (Czech Republic) who had first settled in Canada many decades ago. Beginning with a small house on three acres that included mature trees and a hay field, together through their own hard work and endless learning, they created a vineyard and built their winery. The winery was first licensed in 2019 and opened in 2020. The first pinot noir vintage was 2018.

For me, they seemed to appear “out of the blue” about a year or so ago at a BC VQA event. Of course no producing winery lands out of nowhere. Beginning a vineyard and winery from scratch requires most of a decade’s work to emerge from that “blue”. As the saying goes, “It takes ten years to be come an overnight success”.

Though not certified organic, Michaela and Pavel follow organic and biodynamic practices wherever possible. Weed control is manual while good bugs are encouraged. They continue to do all the vineyard and winery work themselves and will even do their best to deliver wine to your door if you live in the Okanagan or Vancouver.

Their winemaking approach is one of minimal intervention. Fermentations are done using native yeast. Their production is very small, around five thousand liters, with the pinot noir coming from a single acre. Horseshoe Found is one of the smallest licensed wineries in B.C..

And what of the name? It turns out that their land was once part of a local rodeo grounds and in converting the hayfield to grape cultivation, a horseshoe (one of many) was found. The first one, now hanging in the cellar and bolstered by their hard work, has proved to be a lucky one.

Horseshoe Found’s First Four Pinot Noirs

I was pleased to be able to round up all of the winery’s first four pinot noir vintages. Here are my notes.

Horseshoe Found Pinot Noir 2018

In The Glass

Very pale with some garnet on the rim. Initially not that elaborate, mostly cherry aromas with some rhubarb, earthiness, and floral - violets or lilac.  Similar lovely flavours grew after a few minutes in the glass, led by cherry, allied with savoury strawberry and pincherry. It then opened up beautifully on the nose to show some of the pinot noir magic including dried rose petals, damson plum, strawberries and violets. Graceful, subtle and heady at the same time, it's all persuasion and magnetism. The relatively restrained alcohol helps reveal the supple charms here. It's silky, savoury, feminine and for me Volnay-like with an exquisite balance and nary a static crackle to blemish the melody. Possibly the best mature pinot noir to come out of the Similkameen that I have tasted. It is often asked whether B.C. competes favourably with wines from around the world. I think that one would have great trouble finding an equivalent pinot noir from France or Oregon for example, at this price level (low thirties). B ~ 92

In The Winery & Vineyard

The Horseshoe Found 2018 pinot noir was harvested from the winery’s single vineyard on September 23, 2018 with Brix 23.1. The wine was fermented on skins for 10 days with indigenous yeast an then aged for 20 months in new French oak, and neutral barrels. The wine was bottled on September 19th 2020 unfiltered. Total production was 117 cases.  Alcohol  13.8% · PH  3.77 · TA  6.6 · RS  1.4

Horseshoe Found Pinot Noir 2019

In The Glass

Pale with garnet/tawny colour throughout. Dry, savoury versions of wild strawberry, pomegranate molasses, mulberry, black raspberry melded with autumn leaves and a lovely balance that is evident even on the nose. The flavour follows through and adds nutmeg, dried cherries and blueberries, a silky texture, a nerve of minerality and very mature softened tannins. A long finish shows an elegant, drifting, finely sifted blend of flavours with superb balance. Drinking well but the drying savoury fruit, advanced colour and tertiary tannins makes me think that this one is at or near the tipping point. For current drinking. B- ~ 90

In The Winery & Vineyard

The 2019 pinot noir was harvested from their single vineyard on October 2nd 2019 with Brix 22.5. The wine was fermented on the skins for 12 days with indigenous yeast and then aged for 22 months in new French oak and neutral barrels. the wine was bottled on September 26th 2021 unfiltered and unfined. Total production was 46 cases. Alcohol 13.2% | pH 3.78 | Titratable Acidity 6.8 | Residual Sugar 0.2

Horseshoe Found Pinot Noir 2021

In The Glass

The colour is pale with a ruby rim. On the nose, light vanilla, very savoury cherry, pom molasses, preserved cherry, touch of floral lilac, cherry and light pomegranate molasses. Good acidity but pretty simple and a touch too much alcohol showing for the resident fruit. Initially it was not long on complexity and nuance. Later it opened up to reveal more length and charm, leaning towards pomegranate molasses versus cherry, a touch of earthiness and some wild strawberry, all well balanced.  The flavours are relatively simple, and it has a silky texture but alcohol keeps coming to the fore.  It does keep opening, retaining floral, savoury wild strawberry notes, a touch of minerality and has some charm. The finish also lengthened as it opened and became softer and more graceful overall. The through line here to the other Horseshoe Found vintages is the lovely balance on the finish.

2021 was a very difficult year for wineries in the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys. Throughout the interior vineyards, it was difficult to get a relatively balanced wine in the face of an unprecedented heat dome producing alcohol levels high enough to force harvest in mid-September. Many Okanagan pinot noirs were off their game in one way or another. Wildfires were a second stumbling block in this year but there’s no trace of smoke in this wine. This was literally pulled this out of the fire of the heat dome. The challenges of the vintage seemed to have interfered with a pinot noir that in other vintages showed superbly. C+ ~ 88

In The Winery & Vineyard

The Horseshoe Found 2021 pinot noir was harvested from the Cawston vineyard on September 17, after the historical heat dome with temperatures rising above 45°C in June and July. Some fruit was lost due to these extreme weather elements. The wine was fermented for 11 days with its own natural yeast and then aged for 18 months in new and neutral French oak barrels. It was bottled on April 23, 2023 unfined and unfiltered. A natural, vegan friendly wine, total production was 145 cases.  Alcohol  14.40% | pH 3.87 | Titratable Acidity 6.80 | Residual Sugar  0.60

Sample for review

Horseshoe Found Pinot Noir 2020

In The Glass

Pale with a ruby/garnet rim.  Initially on the nose, a mixture of savoury berry fruits including mulberry, pomegranate along with light touches of caramel/molasses and cinnamon. A lovely balance is evident even on the nose. Horseshoe Found pinot noirs seem to open out quite nicely after fifteen or twenty minutes and this was especially evident on this 2020 vintage. The aromas swelled to include fairly savoury forms of pomegranate and mulberry, dried blueberry, wild strawberry and chestnut.

This wine showed a fresher fruit intensity on the taste than the other vintages in this tasting and included notes of cherry, strawberry, mulberry, pomegranate, some baking spice and dried leaves, as well as a pleasing, vibrant, mildly astringent note that I associate with the presence of limestone in the vineyard soils. The finely textured complex finish is very long and shows a wonderful poise all the way to the last taste horizon. This should hold very well for 2 to 4 years.  B to B+ ~ 93

In The Winery & Vineyard

The 2020 Pinot Noir was harvested from the single vineyard on the property on October 2nd 2020 with Brix 24. The wine was fermented on skins for 10 days with indigenous yeast then aged for 18 months in new French oak and neutral barrels. the wine was bottled on May 6th unfiltered and unfined to maintain its natural character. Total production was 162 cases.  Alcohol  13.50% | pH   3.69 } Titratable Acidity 6.38 | Residual Sugar  1.68

Horseshoe Found Pinot Noirs Current Vintage & Availability

Notes:

Some speculative thoughts on the wines.

I am no winemaker or vineyard manager. I don’t know what choices the winemaker faced but the wines generally seem quite forward in colour, ranging from garnet to almost tawny. Development seems similarly advanced. Although pinot noir can show a wide range of depths, colours and speeds of development, it seemed to be a little unusual.

I can’t help but wonder that with PH numbers of 3.69 or above in the wines whether this is contributing to the advanced appearance and development? On the other hand, with the winery’s commitment to minimal intervention it may just be part of accepting what nature gives. It certainly hasn’t harmed the quality of the wines as you see from the tasting notes.

But here’s another thought. When first tasting Horseshoe Found pinot noir, I remember thinking it reminded me right away of some I had tasted a while before from Eau Vivre Winery. It had the same very pale and advanced colours, similar savoury, floral flavours and were both very light and beautifully balanced. I knew they were both from the Similkameen but it turns out they are both from Cawston and are in fact across Lowe Drive from each other. You could walk from one vineyard to the other in less than a minute. So maybe it’s simply the dirt as they share an almost identical geographical terroir? I welcome all comments and perspectives on this. This is why wine in general and pinot noir in particular are so fascinating.

The Promise of Pinot Noir in the Similkameen Valley

It has long puzzled me as to why there seem to be so few interesting pinot noirs coming from vineyards in the Similkameen valley.

In terms of growing degree days, variety of aspects, lowered disease and pest pressure due to prevailing dry winds, and other basic growing conditions, the Similkameen Valley seems to lack for nothing. Most intriguing though was the tantalizing promise that the Similkameen possessed great pinot noir's magic ingredient, its philosopher's stone - limestone. 

The Okanagan and Similkameen valleys are geologically quite diverse and though the Okanagan valley has very little limestone, it is present in some places in the Similkameen. Minerality is a much debated subject in wine circles. What is it? How could it get there? How do rocks influence flavour? The debate continues on this.

What I can say is that in my experience, there are particular recognizable nuances and flavours present in some wines grown in soils possessing limestone. For me it presents as an astringent aspect similar to but distinguishable from that of tannins. It’s like a thin seam of vibrancy or energy that adds complexity and interest to pinot noir as well as other wines both red and white. Limestone is woven through many of the vineyards and wines of Burgundy and other celebrated wine regions throughout the world.

How important can limestone be for pinot noir?

The search for limestone influenced soils is what drove Josh Jensen the founder of Calera Winery to search California to find the right location for establishing his pinot noir vineyards. Jensen fell in love with pinot noir when he apprenticed with winemakers in Burgundy. His winemaker mentors were adamant that great pinot noir must be grown in limestone-rich soils such as those in the Côte d’Or in Burgundy.

Upon his return from France in 1971 he spent two years searching California to find limestone soils. The search led ultimately to the steep slopes of Mount Harlan where Calera Wines resides today. He is widely credited with proving that quality pinot noir could be made in California and his pinot noirs are mineral driven and superb.

The story of that search and Jensen’s subsequent struggles to master pinot noir, was told in Canadian author Marq de Villiers’ book called The Heartbreak Grape and that tag has been repeated relentlessly, by wine writers, to pinot noir ever since.

The Similkameen Valley Is Known For It’s Other Mineral Streaked Reds So Why Not Pinot Noir?

That minerality associated with limestone’s presence is evident in many red wines from the Similkameen made from syrah, the Bordeaux varieties and others but Similkameen pinot noir has not shared in that reputation.

One reason may be that the Similkameen's ability to produce reds of elevated intensity and body from other red grapes influenced the approach to crafting pinot noir by some wineries there. Certainly, a decade or so back, two of the more prominent Similkameen wineries making pinot noir had a house style that emphasized robust, heavily extracted reds and I think their pinot noirs were carried along in that approach.

Strictly by the numbers, of the seventeen properties listed in the Similkameen only six or seven by my count, currently make a pinot noir so there are simply not that many of them. Also, a number of Similkameen pinot noir growers sell their fruit to wineries outside the Similkameen. Additionally, some Okanagan wineries who have Similkameen pinot noir vineyards simply use it as a contributing part of their pinot noir blends. I don’t remember seeing a pinot noir from an Okanagan based winery labeled as Similkameen single vineyard. It may just be a kind of chicken and egg situation i.e. since Similkameen pinot noir doesn’t currently have a big reputation, why feature it with a separate single vineyard bottling?

The Horseshoe Found pinot noirs demonstrate to me that limestone has been struck as it were, in the Similkameen and found its way into the pinot noirs. It supplies an elaborating element to their wines and shows a very encouraging glimmer of pinot noir’s potential in this area.

I hope other B.C. wineries will consider exploring and promoting pinot noir’s potential for quality in the Similkameen Valley.

Postscript May 31, 2024 Sorry to report that since this article was published the winery has announced that it will be closing permanently. This was due to the extreme frost that hit the Similkameen Valley in January 2024 that severely damaged many vineyards including theirs.

Until next time.