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2020 Leaning Post “Clone 548” Chardonnay 🔥 96+pts 🔥 Wine of the Year ALERT!

2020 Leaning Post “Clone 548” Chardonnay 🔥 96+pts 🔥 Wine of the Year ALERT!

Regular price $47.20 CAD
Regular price $52.20 CAD Sale price $47.20 CAD
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  • 96+ points
  • ON Niagara Peninsula Lincoln Lakeshore VQA
  • 100% Chardonnay

Bar-none, this was the #1 Chardonnay tasted out of 112 Chardonnays at our live tasting marathon.

Both Carl and members were blown away by the quality and unique characteristics of this wine. It's a WOW wine and we can't wait to see how it will age!

2020 Leaning Post “Clone 548” Chardonnay

Ontario, Niagara, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore
100% Chardonnay | Dry | 13.0% ABV
96+pts Carl's Wine Club | Top Chardonnay Overall, 2024 Chardonnay Marathon

Wine of the Year ALERT! Seriously, this is one of the very best wines that I have tasted in over three years, the second highest rated of all. This Chardonnay is rich, balanced, structured, serious, generous and tremendously complex. Ilya Senchuk was one of the first to plant  clone 548 Chardonnay in Niagara and 12 years later he has put together his very first single clone/single vineyard Chardonnay. 100% of the spectacular 2020 fruits are sourced from a small one acre block of the Leaning Post home vineyard, the Senchuk Vineyard in the Lincoln Lakeshore sub-appellation. On the nose, incredible aromas of lemon meringue, white peach, Asian pear and caramel. Floral notes such as lemongrass and flint are also present as I might have expected.  On the palate I encounter a fresh wine, young with character, lively and cerebral, but friendly enough to make it approachable, along with a rich mid-palate to remind everybody that it comes from the 2020 vintage. The finesse and the delicacy go hand in hand with a structured body. Dominant flavours of sweet lemon cake, yellow apple, a hint of peach and a tremendous continuity between seashell minerality and pure salinity. This medium-bodied Chardonnay is lake satin in your mouth, and expands with savoury layers, energized by focused acidity, and a long, textural finish. Only 65 cases made. (May 25, 2024).  

Food pairing: poached salmon, grilled pork chops
Drink now until 2028

Only 65 cases made!

Winery Direct Price: $52.20 | HST Holiday Price: $47.20

For more details on the 2024 Chardonnay Tasting Marathon, see our blog post here.

 

More Info on This Special Wine:

Clone 548, typically the backbone of Senchuk Vineyard Chardonnay, stands solo for the first time and is a truly wonderful expression of what we love about this clone.

Nose: The nose has multiple layers starting with salted caramel and lemon curd with hints of floral notes such as orange blossom and rose petal.

Palate: The palate is an expansion already highlighted in the nose – salted caramel, candied lemon, lemongrass, and wet stone minerality. There is a beautiful richness that is tight in the core with waves of flavours that keep unfolding with some time and air.

Finish: The mouth-watering acidity emphasizes the saline characteristics found on the nose and palate.

Pairing: Poached salmon with a buttery sauce, chicken, pork or pasta in a creamy sauce pair stunningly with this wine.

 

The estate Senchuk Vineyard is home to two clones of Chardonnay – Clone 548 & Clone 96.

Hand-picked and hand-sorted on September 15, the clones were gently whole-cluster pressed (separated by type) and allowed to settle in tanks for several days prior to fermentation. After being racked into barrel (1 puncheon; 4 barriques) for alcoholic and malolactic fermentation and aged for 18 months. After skillfully selecting the best barrel combination to properly highlight the wine, the 2020 Clone 548 Chardonnay settled naturally in tank before being bottled in June 2022.

Vintage: 2020

Vineyard: Senchuk Vineyard

Varietal: Chardonnay

Appellation: Niagara Peninsula

Sub-Appellation: Lincoln Lakeshore

Total Production: 65 cases

Average Brix at Harvest: 21.0

Acidity: 6.9 g/L

pH: 3.33

Alcohol: 13%

Residual Sugar: 4g/L


Winery: Leaning Post

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