This is not a story of “le coup de foudre”, but it is a love story. While I enjoyed every sip I had of this Chardonnay by Trail Estate Winery, the more I savoured it over a couple of days, the more I liked it. This was a wine I wanted to spend time with.
 
That’s not to say it didn’t charm me at first sniff with aromas of lemon pie, nectarines, peaches, and the perfume of wet stones that I have always been delighted to find in.
 
One sip and I was even more enamoured of this wine. Ripe lemons, nectarines and apricots, and a touch of salted butter combined pleasingly on the palate, against a backdrop of a Habotai silk-like texture. What surprised and enthralled me, though, was that as the wine warmed a bit, it emanated a lovely note of molasses that at first, I struggled to name. It was a sort of funky, syrupy aroma that reminded me of road trips I took with my parents through the countryside in Andhra Pradesh (which always seemed to involve driving past a sugar factory or two).
 
Like the hot summer sun glowing through tinted glass, this wine is neither austere, nor “big and bold”. It embodies both richness and elegance in its own distinctive way. I highly recommend it. I think it is drinking beautifully now, served chilled at about 12-14C in a Burgundy glass.
 
Some technical stuff: the wine was fermented with wild yeast, allowed to undergo natural malolactic conversion, and aged for 10 months in French oak (35% new, 50% used for the third time, 15% neutral oak).

There are still some bottles of this vintage left. You can order a bottle online, if you hurry, but I also recommend a visit to the winery and vineyard (scroll left to see photos of both taken last fall). Talented winemaker Mackenzie Brisbois makes some beautiful wines (find out more about her here). Try what they’re pouring by the glass and see what you like.