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2021 Chardonnay - Grimsby Hillside Vineyard - Frontier Block

white
$50.20
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  • Tasting Notes

  • Winemakers Notes 

  • Technical Details

Nose: ! Tightly wound and dense, the bright lemon curd is balanced perfectly with wet-stone, gunflint and wisps of meringue. With more air, red apple skin, pineapple, crème-fraiche, salted caramel and roasted almond make an appearance.

Palate: The palate is perfectly balanced, matching the nose while adding grilled Niagara peach and orange-blossom, but the fantastic notion of a cold mountain stream trickling over limestones never fades.

Finish: The weight and structure are excellent and are almost immediately washed away with laser-like acidity. The finish is exceptionally complex and long, fading very slowly.

Pairing: Umami-rich dishes such as grilled, seared or roast shellfish like lobster and scallops, roast, guinea fowl, dishes that include wild mushrooms and slow roast tomatoes, white truffles. Hazelnut-crusted chicken or fish.

Reviews: 93 PTS Rick Vansickle Wines in Niagara & 91 Wine Align J. Szabo

A warm spring and warm summer lead to an uneven and wet fall, however good viticulture and good terroir still allowed these grapes to develop complex aromatics and structure without losing acidity or freshness. The blocks two different Chardonnay clones: clone 76 and clone 96, were hand picked on October 17th. The clones were kept separate throughout pressing and oak aging. The fruit was whole cluster pressed and allowed to settle for a couple of days before being put into barrel for spontaneous fermentation. Once fermentations were completed, the wine remained in French oak barriques on lees for 15 months. This wine was skillfully blended with the perfect percentage of each clone to truly showcase this vintage, (63% clone 76 and 37% clone 96). We bottled this wine in June of 2023.

Vintage: 2021

Vineyard: Grimsby Hillside Vineyard

Varietal: Chardonnay

Appellation: Niagara Peninsula

Sub-Appellation: Lincoln Lakeshore

Total Production: 130 cases

Average Brix at Harvest: 20.2

Acidity: 6.3 g/L

pH: 3.55

Alcohol: 12.5%

Residual Sugar: 3g/L

Back Vintages

  • 2020

  • 2019

Grimsby Hillside Vineyard is located just 800 metres from Leaning Post but has a terroir all its own. The vineyard, more specifically The Frontier Block, slopes off the escarpment which is perfectly suited to Chardonnay. This, combined with mature vines (19-year-old), create wines of elegance, power, and age-worthiness. The Frontier Block is planted with 2 different Chardonnay clones: Clone 76 & Clone 96.

A warm Spring and warmer Summer with cool nights allowed the grapes to develop complex aromatics and structure without losing acidity and freshness.

Hand-picked on September 24th, the grapes were gently whole-cluster pressed, and allowed to settle in separate tanks prior to fermentation. After a few days, each clone was racked into French oak barrique for spontaneous alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, then aged in barrel for 15 months on lees. After being skillfully blended to showcase the vintage (78% Clone 76; 22% Clone 96), the 2020 Grimsby Hillside Chardonnay was bottled in June 2022.

Tasting Notes

An amazing growing season produced a stunning and exceptionally tightly wound debut from Grimsby Hillside Vineyard. Bright lemon curd is balanced perfectly with wet stone, gunflint, and wisps of wintergreen in the background. With more air, green apple, pineapple, crème fraiche, and toasted almond start to appear, with “mountain stream over limestone” never fading. The palate is perfectly balanced with a good weight and structure, immediately washed away with a piercing, laser-like acidity. The finish is exceptionally complex and long, with a slow fade; truly unique!

Winemaker’s Notes

Grimsby Hillside Vineyard is located just 800 metres from Leaning Post but has a terroir all its own. The vineyard, more specifically The Frontier Block, slopes off the escarpment which is perfectly suited to Chardonnay. This, combined with mature vines (18-year-old), create wines of elegance, power, and age-worthiness. The Frontier Block is planted with 2 different Chardonnay clones: Clone 76 & Clone 96.

A cool Spring was followed by a steady and cool growing season with just enough moisture to keep vines happy. Steadily cool weather in Fall allowed the grapes to develop complex aromatics and structure without losing acidity and freshness.

Hand-picked with minimal sorting, the grapes were gently whole-cluster pressed on October 21st, and allowed to naturally settle prior to fermentation. The juice was racked into French oak barriques and 500L puncheon for fermentation by indigenous yeast and malolactic bacteria, then aged in barrel, lees unstirred, for 15 months. After being lightly filtered, the 2019 Grimsby Hillside Chardonnay was bottled on May 13, 2021.

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