Clear, medium lemon-gold appearance. Clean, light melon-banana along with sweet spice on the nose. Dry, medium-plus acidity, and a medium body. Ripe tropical fruit and earthy, almond-oak flavours in the mouth; tastefully oaked. Medium length. Overall good: a tasteful Chardonnay. This bottle was a gift from my father. See Kumeu River Wines.
Clear, pale lemon-gold. Clean, medium-plus intensity citrus-mineral with ripe fruit and obvious oak. Dry, medium acidity and body. Medium intensity tropical and green fruit, and vanilla oak. Nicely balanced, nothing too much to the fore. Nice lingering finish. 13.5% alcohol. This is exactly what I was looking for tonight; also nice to see that it’s a carbon-neutral, solar powered vineyard. Recommended. $30 at Crosstown. See Rodney Strong Vineyards and the winemaker’s notes.
Clear, light-plus lemon-gold appearance. Clean, light nose of citrus, ripe fruits, and obvious oak. Dry, high acidity, and medium bodied with straightforward melon, apple, and nutty oak qualities. Medium length. 13% alcohol. Overall good: enjoyable, solid, but not complex. $36 at Crosstown.
Clear, light-plus lemon-gold with a clean, light citrus-fruity nose. Dry, high acidity, medium body. Straightforward but well-balanced and enjoyable lemon-mineral palate. Good length. 13% alcohol. $24.99 at Liberty Wine Merchants. See Maison Joesph Drouhin.
Clear, medium lemon-gold appearance. The nose is clean, light-plus intensity dominated by mineral with fruit and citrus, and a hint of oaking. Dry, high acidity medium body, nicely balanced citrus-mineral with floral and some herbaceous notes; very subtle oak. 13.5% alcohol. Great finish and length. Overall very good; recommended. $44.99 at Liberty Wine Merchants. See Domaine la Soufrandise (warning: Flash).
Clear, pale gold with a bit of green. Clean, light nose, lemon and lime nose with a hint of oak. Dry, high acidity, medium body, smooth with spice and even floral notes; apple, citrus, and a hint of vanilla. Medium length. 13% alcohol. Overall good; very enjoyable, and well balanced. See Blue Mountain Vineyard.
Clear pale lemon-gold appearance. On the nose, clean medium intensity pear, pineapple, and buttery oak. Dry with medium-high acidity and light-medium body. Green apple, pineapple, and spice, with some oak notes. 13.5% alcohol. Good length, overall good. $21.90 at Marquee. See Bishop’s Peak.
Haven’t had much Chardonnay recently. I’ve enjoyed the recent Blue Mountain Pinot Blanc (2008, 2009). This has a nice rich gold colour, and a straightforward, light apple nose with a hint of oak. Medium body dry, citrus predominating, nicely balanced with a bit of oak. Satisfying finish. Quite nice. 13% alcohol. $31.20 at Crosstown.
This blend is 66% Pinot Blanc and 34% Chardonnay—see the winemaker’s notes (PDF file). Light lemon-silver appearance; straightforward apple-citrus nose with a hint of the Okanagan sage. Dry, with a nice light and well-balanced palate dominated by citrus and pineapple, and a nice finish of ripe fruit—as the winemaker suggests, a quality of pear. This is very nice; strikes me as a great summer wine in particular—perhaps it’s just the summer weather today in Vancouver. 13.5% alcohol. See Blasted Church Vineyards.
Like many people, I guess, I went through a Chardonnay kick a few years back. The excessive oaking eventually got to me. Now, it seems, there is a trend towards producing unoaked Chardonnays.
This one is pale clear silver, with a light citrus-pinapple grassy nose. Nice subtle palate of Okanagan fruit, apple-lemon, and a distinctive liquorice note on the nice long finish. Very nice! 13.4% alcohol. CAD$22.90 at Crosstown. See Dirty Laundy Vineyard, which is becoming one of my British Columbia favourites.