and which means that their holiday on July 1st kicks off a four-day long party and our town population of about 6000 year-round residents triples. It's the best time of the year to live in, and be in, Birch Bay. After the 2006 chardonnays from Mer Soleil Silver and Badge we enjoyed with dinner (seared scallops with pea ravioli), we opened the 2001 Poplar Grove Benchmark Merlot. I purchased it at the winery and I'm sure I learned then what they meant by Benchmark but I no longer recall. It is no doubt a play on the name 'Naramata Bench' which is the specific neighborhood the winery, and it's estate vineyards, are located in, but more than that I can't tell you. What I can attest to, though, is what a good bottle of wine this is at nine years old. Rich and earthy with complex black cherry and mocha notes with some leathery secondary nuances. Still some serious tannins here that I'd be inclined to bet will outlast the fruit though I could be wrong--I'm just chicken to bet on a Canadian red lasting a whole lot longer.