2016 CheckMate Queen’s Advantage Chardonnay

I have been waiting, for what feels like ages, to take this photo.

Our home has been undergoing repairs since mid-October, and we are finally at the point where we have flooring. Definitely an occasion worthy of an extra-special bottle of wine, and the 2016 CheckMate Queen’s Advantage certainly fits that bill.

I first tried CheckMate Chardonnays several years ago at a tasting that showcased wines from British Columbia’s first sub-appellation, the Golden Mile Bench. The Chardonnays from CheckMate stood out from the crowd due to their excellent oak integration and their ability to be subtle and elegant, yet intense at the same time.

Currently CheckMate produces eight distinct expressions of Chardonnay including their Pied de Cuve*, Bear’s Move. The wines are created from grapes grown at five vineyard sites throughout the south Okanagan.

The 2016 Queen’s Advantage is the second vintage of this particular expression. It is made from the oldest Chardonnay vines in BC, located at the Combret Vineyard which is on the Golden Mile Bench. This wine underwent 90% wild fermentation and spent 16 months in French oak (50% new); only six barrels were produced.

After two-and-a-half hours in the decanter there are aromas of toasty brioche, fresh lemon, papaya, nutmeg and crushed gravel.

This is a full bodied Chardonnay with medium+ acidity and a long finish.

The palate starts off creamy, but soon bright and lively flavours take over: lemon Greek yogurt, pineapple, coconut, papaya and caramel popcorn, overtop a backdrop of textured minerality.

*A wine fermented using the yeasts that are naturally occurring on the skin of the grapes. The Bears’ Move is fermented in a ceramic vessel in CheckMate’s Dekleva Vineyard.