2021 County Chardonnay du Nord
Regular price $53.00
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94 PTS — Rick VanSickle
“While Brisbois is ingenious with the wilder side of winemaking that pushes the boundaries of natural and low intervention expressions of nouveau wine styles, her classic County Chardonnays are even more impressive. The trio of Chardonnays reviewed here, are a perfect example of terroir-driven wines all with their own personalities from the estate’s vineyard.
“While Brisbois is ingenious with the wilder side of winemaking that pushes the boundaries of natural and low intervention expressions of nouveau wine styles, her classic County Chardonnays are even more impressive. The trio of Chardonnays reviewed here, are a perfect example of terroir-driven wines all with their own personalities from the estate’s vineyard.
“Sourced from the North block of the vineyard (nearest the winery). It’s a dry, shallow site and a challenging place for vines to establish themselves, but the Chardonnay has found success in planting its roots, says Brisbois. It shows a light golden colour in the glass, and it needs a bit of swirling to fully open up, but once it does there is elegance personified with floral notes and pear preserves, yellow apples, flinty/chalky notes and lifted woodsy spices. On the palate it has a creamy smooth texture and persistent rich apple/pear notes, citrus zest, a chalky vein of minerality and brisk acidity leading to a long, finessed finish. The essence of The County right here.
Hand Picked and sorted in field from the Trail Estate Vineyard. The North and South Block were kept separate and vinified separately. Blended prior to bottling. The grapes were pressed whole cluster and were put straight to barrel. Fermented and aged in a 3rd fill, Mercurey, ST French Oak 500 L barrel. Racked out of barrel and bottled after 10 months aging. Bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulphur levels.
From the North block that can be found nearest the winery. A very dry and shallow site. A challenging place for vines to establish themselves, but the Chardonnay has found success in planting its roots, providing delicious flavours year to year. This wine is quite a bit lighter than the Sud. It has delicate floral notes that need to be enticed out of the glass with air. The palate is leaner than the Sud, but should develop beautifully over the next 3 years.
Cases Produced: 25
Grower: Trail Estate Winery
Harvested: October 6, 2021
Yields: Approx. 1.5 Tonnes/Acre
Brix: 20.6
RS: <3g/L
Alcohol: 10.5