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93POINTS
17¼/20
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Little Pawn Chardonnay Jagged Rock Vineyard 2018
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaLittle Pawn comes off Jagged Rock Vineyards planted over 20 years ago on a west-facing plateau at the top of the Black Sage Bench that butts up against the Okanagan Highlands foothills. The exposition is west-tilting, and the site is warm. The clone selection is a 58/42 mix of Dijon 76 and the local Dekleva selection grown on the home estate. The soils at Jagged Rock are decidedly poor and mostly porous fine-grained sands with little ability to retain moisture. As a result, the bunches are small, and the flavours intense. The nose mixes sagebrush/fennel desert scrub; the textures are creamy with a floral leesy, citrus and orange flavour with a dash of sea salt and spice. Across the New World, it is a rare combination of power and elegance. Some 83 percent is wild fermented and all in all only twelve barrels (50 new French oak), all Burgundy coopers). Winemaker Phil McGahan says the move to organic farming is complete at all the Checkmate vineyards, and by the end of 2021, all the fruit will be certified organic. His take is that you can already taste the change as the fruit comes to the winery with riper flavours and lower sugars.Tasted: 12 June 2021Tasted by: Anthony GismondiPrices:| BC | $110.00 | 750ml |
Grape: ChardonnayCSPC: 81588UPC: 776545802378
