Quails’ Gate Estate Winery
Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay 2008
Okanagan Valley, BC
$30-35 +639641 available at BC Liquor stores, VQA stores and select private wine stores
Select British Columbia and Ontario VQA wines are headed to The Big Apple for a Seriously Cool Chardonnay media tasting on March 8. 54 wines from 31 Canadian wineries are crossing the 49th parallel to show wine scribes a couple of things:
1. What Canadian cool climate chardy can be, and 2. We make more than icewine.
VQA wineries in British Columbia and Ontario were invited to submit their wines in a blind tasting judged by a panel of Canadian judges led by Tony Aspler. The panel previewed 100 Canadian Chardonnays to select contenders. According to Aspler, “The wines chosen for the New York tasting show how versatile Chardonnay can be when grown in Canadian vineyards – from sparkling wine, to unoaked Chardonnay, Chardonnay Musqué, ripe New World styles in BC and Icewine.”
One wine that made the cut is Quails’ Gate Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay 2008. The Stewart family, pioneering horticulturists in the Okanagan valley since 1908, certainly know a thing or two about Chardonnay. Quails’ Gate has long been an industry and consumer favourite, and though their portfolio is a good size, their focus is towards Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Their 125 acre lakefront property in Westbank is ideally situated on the favourable south facing slope above Lake Okanagan. Vineyards are planted in a mixture of volcanic rock (from extinct Mt. Boucherie) and glacial clay, and though difficult to farm, Quails’ Gate believes that this terroir contributes to character-rich wines.
This is Quails’ Gate Winery’s premium Chardonnay, and no expense was spared in its creation: older vines, barrel-fermented in French oak (50% new), full malolactic fermentation. Aromas of white blossoms, white peach and toast lead to rich and full flavours of apple, ripe peach, grapefruit, cool mineral and sweet vanilla. Weighty and textured, this is drinking lovely right now, but could lie down for another couple of years. Pair with crab, lobster, sablefish or butter poached chicken.
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