2021 The Tragically Hip 50 Mission Cab

The newest wine offering from The Tragically Hip commemorates the 30^th anniversary of their seminal album, Fully Completely which includes one of the band’s most popular songs: “50 Mission Cap”. The bands first wine, Fully Completely Reserve Red was originally produced to celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of the album, 50 Mission Cab continues this tradition as the album reaches it 30 year milestone.  

Working in conjunction with guitarist Rob Baker, the label concept pays homage to the lyrics of 50 Mission Cap and celebrates the legacy and final flight of Toronto Maple Leafs legend, Bill Barilko. The artwork was derived from a hand carved linocut image created by a Canadian artist commissioned for this design.

Tasting Notes:

A robust Cabernet Sauvignon, deep ruby to garnet in colour. The nose showcases deep notes of black cherry, wild blueberry compote, plum, floral notes of violet and lavender, and smoky spicy notes of black pepper, anise and caramel. The palate is medium to full bodied with elegant flavours of cassis, raspberry, and blackberry jam with hints of cigar, savoury herbs, and a toasty oak finish. The wine has an elegant tannin structure giving the wine very good length on the finish. Recommended drinking 2023 – 2028.

Winemakers Notes:

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with a small amount of Merlot from 2 select vineyards in in the Niagara Peninsula. Fruit was harvested late October with good fruit flavour concentration and an average brix of 23°. Grapes were crushed and fermented in one tonne fermenter bins with daily manual punch-down of the caps. The wine was then racked into French oak barrels (30% new barrels, 40% 1 year old, 30 % seasoned) for 12 months prior to blending. 426 cases were bottled November 2022.

Vintage:  2021

Blend: 86.7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.3% Merlot

Harvest date: Oct 2021

Brix: Average 23°

Harvested by: Mechanical Harvester + Hand Harvesting

Residual Sugar: 4g/L

Total Acidity: 3.5 g/L

Alcohol: 15.6%

Fermented in: 1 ton fruit bins

Malolactic: 100% Malolactic Fermentation

Aged: 12 months in new and seasoned French Oak Barrels

Bottled: November 2022