County Chardonnay

County chardonnay was grown on 5 separate sites, all within 2km of the winery. We blend the sites to build complexity and richness from slightly different terroirs. The wine started fermentation in horizontal stainless steel tanks and finished in 500L French Oak barrels. The new oak component being approximately 30%. Larger format barrels are used as a medium for better oak integration. The wine went sulfur free for a year and was bottle unfined and unfiltered.

Chardonnay was grown on 5 separate sites, all within 2km of the winery. Clonal selection was 80% clone 76 and 20% clone 95. The idea of blending the sites is to build complexity and richness from slightly different terroirs. The wine started fermentation in horizontal stainless steel tanks and finished in primarily 500L French Oak barrels. The new oak component being approximately 30%. Larger format barrels are used as a medium for better oak integration. The wine went sulphur free for a year and was bottle unfined and unfiltered.

100% County fruit, about half of which is estate-grown, harvested in mid-September. Our County Chardonnay went through a wild fermentation that started in tank and finished in French oak, half the barrels being 228 l and the other half 500 l barrels. After fermentation the wine was aged in barrel for 10 months on original lees. Natural malolactic fermentation followed by a minimal sulphur addition when taken out of barrel in late July. Bottled unfiltered and unfined.

County Chardonnay is made from locally grown Chardonnay, including our own estate fruit. The wine is delicately oaked in large, 500 litre French oak barrels. The 2011 growing season was a cool year. The juice was partially fermented in stainless steel to preserve freshness and then transferred to barrel where it aged for 9 months. The wine was aged on lees for an additional month in stainless steel. The wine remained sulphur free for 10 months. A small amount of sulphur was added at the end of August prior to bottling. The wine was bottle unfiltered.

This wine was exceptionally well received by top sommeliers in Ontario, who have had great experience with traditional Burgundy. In Quebec, where the top sommelier and public palates have experienced a lot of old-world Burgundy, this wine was truly embraced and was placed in numerous top restaurants. Having believed so strongly in this controversial wine, our faith in our vinification and approach to expressing the greatness of Prince Edward County was cemented this summer, when Matt Kramer, the author of Making Sense of Burgundy and Columnist in Wine Spectator, visited our winery and tasted this wine. When he tasted his eyes lit up, he went back to the glass numerous times as he acquainted himself well with the wine. He said this is one of the best new-world Chardonnay’s he has ever tasted and would fit beautifully in a line-up of arguably one of Burgundy’s best producers, Coche-Dury. It is important to dig deep into the glass and taste a true expression of our calcareous limestone terroir. This wine was made on the edge, utilizing a strong lees component to truly express the soil it came from. For those who are accustomed to drinking Californian and Australian Chardonnays this wine is the antithesis. The wine truly expresses the terroir of Prince Edward County.