Keint-he Winery – Chardonnay (2009)

Moving to another burgeoning wine region of the country, Prince Edward County. This hidden peninsula is quietly tucked away between where Lake Ontario gives its final gasp and becomes the head waters of the St Lawrence, this is a relatively young wine producing region with some delicious secrets that I’ve quite grown to love discovering on my trip with close and very dear friends each year.

Here is a chardonnay that I purchased on a trip a couple years ago and which I believe can still be had through some special orders. This is an unusual chardonnay in that it combines the crispness of an unoaked chardonnay with the full butteriness of an oaken chardonnay. That is to say, this is likely to be a real crowd pleaser.

The crispness is tight on the tongue from that first sip. Pinenut and bit of resin to cleanse the palette beautifully before you take a residual taste of butter and almonds to close. It is certainly bright off the tongue which salivates as the light golden waters swirl around in the mouth … and you hunger for another taste. As I recall, it pulls off this remarkable feat by the addition of another grape, Pinot Meunier, which was separated oaken in this case.

In the middle, there is white fruit like fresh grape and plum pulling in the acidity at the ends along with some lemony citrus which makes it an excellent pairing with buttery seafood (read: scallops and shrimp or even lobster) but also with olive-oil loaded carbs like an angel-hair pasta with Parmesan … or my focaccia.

As I say, it doesn’t have the over powering oaks or that love-it-or-hate-it chardonnay ‘taste’ that you find in bigger reserves. However, it has a richness that distinguishes it from other non-oaked chardonnays. The creaminess is delicious, tantalizing … sexy even.