Checkmate 2019 Capture Chardonnay 750ml

Border Vista Vineyard sits on the warmest and most challenging site that Checkmate farms: East Osoyoos Bench, a stone’s throw from the U.S. border. The single block, 2C, contains just under 30 year old Dijon Clone 76 vines planted over complex, low-nutrient, sandy soils. The fermentation is native, and it is all done in water bent French oak barrels, including 45 percent new. The wine spends 16 months in oak, but you would hardly know it. It surprises with freshness, similar to its neighbour Mission Hill Perpetua which takes fruit from a nearby block. Regular lees stirring has added a lovely mid-weight palate before the elegance kicks in, aided by only 13.8 percent alcohol. Look for green apples, pear, tangerine, salinity. A perfect seafood wine and the best yet for this label. Production is less than 300 cases.

Score: 93 points -- Anthony Gismondi, gismondionwine.com, 2022