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CheckMate Artisanal Winery Little Pawn Chardonnay Barn Vineyard 2014
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaLittle Pawn comes off the Okanagan Highlands foothills of the Black Sage Bench, just southeast of the town of Oliver. The Barn blocks were planted in 1999 on a west-facing plateau. The porous nature of this soil produces low-yielding, small grape clusters with highly concentrated flavour. The vineyard has a warm, west-facing tilt and is planted to a mix of clones: Dijon 76 and the Dekleva selection, all grown with precision vertical shoot positioning at 374 to 380 meters above sea level. It's a singular micro‐terroir of fine‐grained sands with a very low capacity to hold moisture. The yields are low, the clusters small, but the fruit has a beautiful, floral aspect with silky textures. The combination with aromatic, spicy chardonnay fruit is an elegant, feminine chardonnay replete with a creamy mineral finish. Impressive. There's no filtering here, so the wine is not super clear, but the upside is a very impressive array of flavours that tend to fatten up with age, and in 2014 that seems certain, albeit with a certain elegance and lots of lengths. Production was 19 barrels.Tasted: 30 March 2017Tasted by: Anthony GismondiPrices:| BC | $110.00 | 750ml | winery club members |
Grape: ChardonnayCSPC: 81588UPC: 776545800107
