Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaOne of the perks of wine writing is the opportunity to take part in vertical tastings once in a while to track a single wine through several vintages. It’s the ultimate test of a wine’s ability to express each vintage while revealing its fingerprint and even more important to demonstrate whether it can age over time in the bottle. On this day, we tasted every vintage to date of Fool’s Mate, from 2013-2017. As young as the winery is, it was a revelation. What we learned is that the original ageing window, thought to be about five years by winemaker Phil McGahan, is quickly expanding into the 7-10 year range as the wines evolve in the bottle. 2016 continues to progress. It’s still showing some oak upfront, but that will eventually disappear into the back of the wine as the freshness over the lean frame begins to assert itself. The predominate flavours are peach and nectarine, aided by lemon, hints of brioche, excellent minerality, and a delightful palate-cleansing sea salt finish. It should be ready to go by 2023 through 2025.Tasted: 04 February 2020Tasted by: Prices: BC 80.00 winery direct, restaurants, select private wine shops
Producer: CheckMate Artisanal WineryDistributors: Mark Anthony Wines and Spirits Grape: ChardonnayCSPC: 628917UPC: 776545801623
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaFool’s Mate is a blend of five south Okanagan sites and five clones: Dijon 76, Dijon 95, 809, Dekleva and Combret. Sixty percent is coming off the Black Sage Bench from Jagged Rock (nee The Barn Vineyard) and Sunset Vineyard, and the rest from Dekelva Vineyard and Combret on the Golden Mile Bench, with a small amount from Border Vista Vineyard on the Osoyoos East Bench. The secret weapon here is a single concrete egg ferment that joins the nine barrels of French oak (47 percent new), which play home to the juice for 16 months. In many ways, this is the most sophisticated wine made at Checkmate, combining so many sites, expositions, and clones. In 2016 it took full advantage of an excellent vintage to establish a freshness and tight frame that allows a richer midpalate to hang effortlessly. The predominant flavours are peach and nectarine, aided by lemon, hints of brioche, excellent minerality, and a favourable palate-cleansing saline finish. This wine was built to age, and its transformation through 2023 should be fascinating.Tasted: 18 October 2019Tasted by: Prices: BC 80.00 winery direct, restaurants, select private wine shops
Producer: CheckMate Artisanal WineryDistributors: Mark Anthony Wines and Spirits Grape: ChardonnayCSPC: 628917UPC: 776545801623
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