Burrowing Owl Athene 2015

Cellar for 20 years or more. Decant for up to an hour before serving.

Athene is Burrowing Owl’s flagship wine, a complex red blend with a rich bouquet of wild dark fruits, cocoa, spice, tobacco smoke and freshly-baked pie crust. It is composed of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Syrah, harvested from Black Sage Bench at the peak of their ripeness, before being fermented in the same tank.

Jim Wyse founded Burrowing Owl Estate Winery in 1997 and has built it into one of Canada’s premier wineries. The site can be found just inside the Canadian border, at the northernmost tip of the “antelope brush” ecosystem, a dry shrub-steppe that exists largely within the rain shadow of the Cascade mountains. Wyse places an emphasis on biodiversity, employing bluebirds and bats to control insects in the vineyards, rather than pesticides.

This attention to detail is expressed in Athene’s complex character. The palate is led by a vigorous flurry of fruits, held up by hints of paprika, dried herbs, leather and baking spice. After fermentation, the wine spent 18 months ageing in oak barrels, building a balanced tannic structure that drives the long finish. Crisp acidity qualifies this wine for a wide variety of food pairings. Consider drinking it with braised meats, steaks, or a tomato-rich vegetarian dish, such as eggplant parmigiana.