Checkmate 2020 Queen Taken Chardonnay 750ml

In a recent vertical tasting from 2013 – 2017, I noted Queen Taken was becoming a leaner, more exciting chardonnay, and lower alcohol was increasing its freshness factor. The latest offering is full of aromatic notes, courtesy of the unknown Dekleva clone, and a significant influx of the old Wente clone that made its debut last year. In 2019 the Wente clone had become a serious component adding more minerality and lift, improving the complexity and taking the label up another notch. This wine has mineral restraint and is expressive at the same time. The palate showcases limey stone fruits with a rich, savoury, tense undercurrent. There were 16 barrels made, and it was wild fermented and barrel aged in French oak (49% new) for 16 months. Dekleva Vineyard is a single block wine located southwest of the town of Oliver, beneath Mt. Kobau and the Thompson Plateau on the Golden Mile Bench. It is predominantly gravelly and coarse Stemwinder, Ponderosa, and Ratnip soils: rubble originating from the mountain above's fluvial fan deposits. Its exposition welcomes a very early and warming sunrise. At the same time, it protects the fruit from baking in the late day thanks to the shadow of Mount Kobau.

Score: 94 points -- Anthony Gismondi, gismondionwine.com, 2022