Ontario Reviews

Angels Gate 2005 Old Vines Chardonnay
(Original Review) ... Anything with the word "old vines” in the title these days seems to be a hot commodity ... old vines Shiraz, old vines Zinfandel, old vines Riesling and of course old vines Chardonnay. Not surprising that we’d have some of these in Ontario considering Chardonnay was one of the first vinifera grape plantings here. Of course, the term old vines means nothing, it's like the term “reserve” - there are no guidelines as to how old "old vines" are. The Angels Gate old vines are 35 years old - I would say that’s pretty old for Chardonnay. But, no matter what the age of the grapes, the vines, or what the label says, it’s the taste that’s gonna matter most and the flavours in this bottle are what I’d expect from the older more concentrated fruit of wines made from older vines. Smells of vanilla, asparagus, butterscotch and a touch leafy are followed by flavours echoed from the nose, namely butterscotch and vanilla with the addition of over-ripe peach (thankfully the leafy disappears in the mouth). Quite smooth with a pleasingly good long finish, which makes this one fully enjoyable now, or over the next five years. Price: $23.95
2005
White
Chardonnay
0
$23.95
Niagara Peninsula
at the winery
http://www.angelsgatewinery.com
2012-02-09
(Re-Tasted January 2013) ... I definitely don't want to get off on my usual tangent about not being a big Chardonnay fan here, so I promise I won't, instead I'm here to tell you what a 7 year old bottle of old vines Chardonnay tasted like (or at least this bottle of 7-year-old Chardonnay tastes like) ... The nose was a powerful mix of butterscotch and vanilla - fruit did not seem to play a part in the olfactories, dried or otherwise. On the palate there was a hint of some fruit, namely lime pith, but once again vanilla, butterscotch-toffee were prevalent in the mouth - the real surprise here was that there was still a healthy dose of acidity. This wine has aged quite well for those who like barrel notes rather than fruit in their older Chardonnay ... if you are looking for fruit, focus your attention to wines that are younger.

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