Chardonnay 2023, 13th Street Winery

Description from the Producer

Tasting Notes: Ripe and fruity with notes of ripe pear, vanilla, lemon cream, honeysuckle and soft white flowers. On the palate, it is rich but refreshing with flavours of ripe yellow pear, salted butter, caramel, vanilla, and light spice and minerality. The finish is long, with savoury notes refreshing the palate. Serve chilled with rich seafood such as pasta with lobster and fennel cream sauce.

Residual Sugar: 0.5 g/L

Winemaking Notes: The grapes for our Chardonnay 2023 come from select vineyards in the Niagara Peninsula appellation. They were harvested in late September and early October and fermented and aged in French oak and acacia barrels of a variety of sizes (228L, 400L, and 500L). There were 100% malolactic fermentations. After rigorous tasting, winemaker Jean-Pierre Colas decided on the final blend and bottled the wine in January 2025, following light fining and filtration

Vintage Notes: A mild winter, accompanied with warmer than warmer-than-average temperatures led to an early start to the growing season in 2023 (Bud break recorded May 5th). Conditions throughout the Spring and Summer were highly variable, a mix of extreme heat and cool spells with intermittent and isolated heavy rains caused a wide range of fruit maturity among most varieties. This led to a slightly delayed start to the 2023 harvest (3rd week of September. Two weeks later than 2022). Once harvest began, conditions were near perfect, consisting of mostly dry, warm days and cool nights with little precipitation. The first grapes to come into the cellar were Chardonnay for sparkling. Followed by aromatic whites and lighter reds such as Riesling and Gamay from late September through mid-October. Later ripening reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were harvested mid to late November concluding harvest. Overall quality was good to excellent, with yields ranging greatly from varietal to varietal. Wines should have the capacity to age for the medium to long term.