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Anthony Gismondi on Wine
Coolshanagh Chardonnaytext
93POINTS
17¼/20

Coolshanagh Chardonnay 2016

Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaNine months down the road, this wine is looking or tasting just fine. I think it's the most elegant Coolshanagh yet, offering electric acidity, creamy lees textures, and rich, layered apple and pear with some of the best French oak framing in the Okanagan. It has real Okanagan signature that sets it apart from so many other BC chardonnays. Coolshanagh produces a small amount (1200 cases) of estate-grown chardonnay, all off west south-west facing vineyards at 49.6 degrees north. To me, this is an authentic cult wine because it’s extremely limited, and the quality is excellent. Burgundy is the model, winemaker Matt Dumayne is in charge, and sensibly the wine about the scrubby pine trees and grasses that dot the landscape, clinging to a ledge high above Okanagan Lake. The grapes are fermented whole cluster in neutral French oak and new French foudres, with smaller amounts placed into egg-shaped concrete fermenters. The two are mixed and placed in concrete egg-shaped vessels for ten months of lees contact. Size matters at Coolshanagh (the name translates to 'a meeting place') and because the vineyard is small; the fruit is picked, block by block, several times. In 2016 it began in mid-September and ran into early October. Post ageing and lees were stirring it was bottled without fining or filtration.Tasted: 22 August 2019Tasted by: Prices:
BC$36.90750mlprivate wine shops
Producer: Haywire by Okanagan Crush PadDistributors: Le Sommelier Inc.
Renaissance Wine Merchants Ltd.
Grape: ChardonnayCSPC: 399691UPC: 626990166085