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McLean Creek Rd Chardonnay 2019

$40.96
93 Points, DJ Kearney, 2021 National Wine Awards of Canada

"Hands down, this is one of Canada’s best made chardonnays. Glinting pale gold in the glass, it’s aromatically gorgeous with honeysuckle, lemon curd, flint and toast. A hint of reduction, subtle oak spice and distinct mineral complexity mark this as something special. In the mouth it’s tight and bracing, showing ripe apple, pear and peach, lemon verbena and a saline signature on the finish. With lip-smacking lemony acidity, creamy-mid palate swell, and graceful, adorning oak, this 2019 McLean vineyard edition impresses with both restraint and generous fruit. Notable body and intensity make this a fine dinner candidate. I tasted this blind in a competition setting recently, and my barely legible shorthand had words like ‘exciting’, ‘energy’ and ‘gorgeous nose’..."

Due to low quantities available, 6-bottle maximum per order. 

Specifications

  • Alcohol 13.5%
  • Acidity 7.1 g/L
  • Appellation Okanagan Falls
  • ph 3.52
  • Region Okanagan Valley
  • Type White
  • Varietal Chardonnay
  • Vintage 2019
  • Winemaker Chris Carson
  • Notes

    Winemaker Notes

    At the winery the fruit was fed directly into the press with an ensuing long gentle pressing employed. Only the finest, purest juice from the early stages of the pressing was used for this wine with the more astringent so called “hard press” kept separate. A long cool fermentation began in stainless steel vessels, employing indigenous and cultured yeast where it remained for most of the ferment. The must was then transferred to 100% French oak (18% new) to complete fermentation. The wine was left “sur lees” for 11 months without battonage. A natural malolactic fermentation occurred in late spring. In keeping with our philosophy to maintain as much as possible a hands-off approach in the cellar to allow the true expression of the terroir this wine is unfined and unfiltered.  

    Vineyard Notes

    Originally planted in 1994, our family owned “McLean Creek Road Vineyard” is located in Okanagan Falls, BC. The vineyard has a predominantly steep southerly aspect with the soil comprised of alluvial and glacial deposits making up a mix of gravel and sandy loams. The Chardonnay is planted in two separate blocks, one on the far east side of the south facing slope and the other on the west end of the slope. The variation of east and west leads to differences in flavour development and in turn more complexity in the finished wine. We operate both of our vineyards using organic/sustainable farming practices. 

    Production Notes

    680 cases produced.