CheckMate Artisanal Winery Queen Taken Chardonnay Dekleva Vineyard 2021
Golden Mile Bench, Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThis month's tasting notes for Queen Taken indicate it remains consistent, offering pear, subtle ginger, a creamy mid palate, wet stone minerality, and savoury desert scrub. It pairs well with fresh halibut. Made from 46 year old vines on the Okanagan Valley's Golden Mile Bench, the vineyard restoration has resulted in a leaner, fresher wine with lower alcohol. The 2021 blend features the original Dekleva clone and new plantings of the old Wente clone, enhancing minerality and complexity. Half is wild fermented and aged in 58% new French oak for 16 months. Dekleva Vineyard, southwest of Oliver, benefits from unique soil types and early morning sun exposure while avoiding late day heat.Tasted: 28 April 2025Tasted by: Prices:
BC
$125.00
750ml
winery club members
BC
$280.00
1500ml
winery online/direct
BC
$680.00
3000ml
winery online/direct
BC
$1425.00
750ml
winery online/direct
Producer: CheckMate Artisanal WineryDistributors: Mark Anthony Wines and Spirits Grape: ChardonnayCSPC: 514984UPC: 776545802903
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Queen Taken Chardonnay Dekleva Vineyard 2021
Golden Mile Bench, Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaQueen Taken is a historically significant Canadian chardonnay, beginning with its 46-year-old vines located on the first Okanagan sub-Gi: the Golden Mile Bench. The Checkmate viticultural team has painstakingly restored the vineyard over the last decade, which has reshaped the earlier versions of this wine, taking it down a leaner, more complex road, reducing the alcohol and upping the freshness. In 2021, it was a mix of the primarily unknown Dekleva clone, named after the family that planted the first vines, with some recently planted old Wente clones. The latter clones bring more minerality and complexity to the blend. 50% of the wine is wild fermented, and all the wine is barrel-aged in 58% new French oak for 16 months. Queen Taken is like no other Checkmate label and will be the beacon for the coming releases under Spencer Kelly. If you like, it will be tighter, fresher, and more Burgundian. In the glass are notes of pear, ginger, and wet stones. The minerality leads on the mid-palate with an assist from a savoury, vibrant undercurrent. Dekleva Vineyard is a single-block wine located southwest of Oliver, beneath Mt. Kobau and the Thompson Plateau on the Golden Mile Bench. It is predominantly gravelly and coarse Stemwinder, Ponderosa, and Ratnip soils (rubble originating from the mountain above's fluvial fan deposits). Its exposition welcomes a very early and warming sunrise. At the same time, it protects the fruit from baking in the late day thanks to the shadow of Mount Kobau.Tasted: 08 March 2024Tasted by: Prices:
BC
$125.00
750ml
winery club members
BC
$280.00
1500ml
winery online/direct
BC
$680.00
3000ml
winery online/direct
BC
$1425.00
750ml
winery online/direct
Producer: CheckMate Artisanal WineryDistributors: Mark Anthony Wines and Spirits Grape: ChardonnayCSPC: 514984UPC: 776545802903
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