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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2016 and 2020 (based on 8 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.8 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 16 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by dcslack on 12/26/2022 & rated 63 points: I admit, I probably held onto this longer than I should have. Definitely not what I remember tasting when we were at the winery! I remember it being a nice buttery Chardonnay, but it has no complexity to speak of at all. Overall disappointing given the $100 price tag. Probably should have drank it about 5 years ago.
Not much on the nose. On the palette, it’s nothing to write home about. A little effervescent too. I would describe the taste as mildly vegetal. (609 views) | | | Tasted by larms on 9/25/2021 & rated 90 points: Finally started to tackle some Checkmate Little Pawn from the vertical box set purchased last year.
Colour: colour was a beautiful pale golden hue, without imperfection and showing little signs of its age
Nose: the nose offered the most here. Tropical aromas immediately greet the nose with pineapple and white peach, giving way to almond sliver and fresh cream. A few green notes make their way through but certainly as a complimentary note (green apple and pear)
Palate: more of the same on the palate but everything in slightly shorter order. Green fruit and crispness come through more prominently as does the creamy nuttiness and mild lemon curd. Mouthfeel remained soft, delicate and silky without being overbearing but I felt the acidity was ever so slightly starting to creep up and I’m glad I opened this when I did. Not sure the fruit really came through enough to balance the acidity if you were planning to hold longer but would be curious to see where this went from here purely from a development stance.
That said, this drank extremely nicely and polished (as Checkmate tends to do) and I cannot complain of the delivery. It definitely demonstrates the ability to age longer than many BC offerings but It it wuite worth the price? Perhaps not this vintage in terms of complexity. But all that said, this drinks extremely nicely and hard to complain about what it stands to offer 8 years on. I’d drink now personally, before it becomes slightly more disjointed.
89/90, leaning 90 purely from the overall finish. (977 views) | | | Tasted by Mari_Coimbra on 7/10/2021 & rated 94 points: Finally opened my 2013 Little Paw. It aged beautifully. Fantastic deep gold color and tons of butter and cream in the nose. The palate is remarkable with butterscotch, creme brûlée and vanilla notes. It’s past the drink window and is still an awesome Chard. The long finish brings a lot of the French oak to give you the chance to remember it for quite a long time. (1092 views) | | | Tasted by rexmerlot on 7/3/2021 & rated 90 points: Still drinking very well. Nice acidity. Notes of apple and citrus. Many more years left in this wine. (1127 views) | | | Tasted by Dover drunk on 6/16/2021 & rated 91 points: clear and crisp but not a Chardonnay guy..sorry (1107 views) | | | Tasted by vertex663 on 12/27/2020 & rated 92 points: Agree with many of MS86's comments here. Complex and expressive wine. Light in color, vanilla and citrus (lemon) on the nose. Full bodied with soft balanced tannin and acidity. Buttery, creamy taste that goes on and on. (1056 views) | | | Tasted by RVC_Wine on 9/24/2020 & rated 89 points: A lot of intervention. Slice, hay, honey, richly textured and intense. No terroir to be found (770 views) | | | Tasted by MS86 on 7/13/2020 & rated 94 points: This wine is drinking beautifully near the end of its suggested drinking window. Expressive, complex and evolving nose of lemon tart, coconut cream pie, green apple, lemon zest, overripe peach and vanilla. In the mouth this full-bodied Chardonnay hits hard with lots of alcohol to balance its high acidity. Flavours start with apple pie and lemon meringue until the citrus lemon, lime, pear and apple takes over before finishing with rich butter cream. The creamy finish lasts and lasts until the next sip! (821 views) | | | Tasted by AWBryce on 6/22/2019: First time trying this. Lovely use of oak, present but restrained. Peaches, nice mouthfeel, ripe fruits. Not overblown. Lovely balance. (1375 views) | | | Tasted by rexmerlot on 2/12/2019 & rated 90 points: Clear lemon yellow in color. Notes of citrus and floral on nose and palate. Dry, med body, nice acidity. A beautiful example of a BC Chardonnay but very pricey. (1496 views) | | | Tasted by Francois Le Mouel on 9/11/2018 & rated 91 points: Very old world in style - mineral, subtle oak notes, bright acidity. this is excellent, but is it really worth $120...I'd say no. Personally, I'm more excited to drink a bottle of Painted Rock Chardonnay than this wine...and it's 25% of the price! Don't get me wrong, this is extremely well made, but it's just too expensive. (2174 views) | | | Tasted by davo22 on 10/11/2016 & rated 93 points: Citrus and floral notes, lots of minerality, good acidity. The oak is subtle. There is a buttery, smooth, melt in your mouth, long finish to this wine. Elegant and superb. (1285 views) |
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