Done in comparison with the Closson Chase 2007 S Kocsis Chardonnay ... Taking these wines individually is not as much fun as tasting and reviewing them together, because they are so different, yet so the same. Both wines are sourced from Beamsville Bench vineyards (in Niagara), both go through the same oak treatment (both wines are barrel fermented – using natural yeasts - and aged 18 months, using the same barrel. 100 % French oak - 75% used 25% new, and went through full malolactic fermentation. No fining agents were used and they were bottled unfiltered). They’re made by the same winemaker at the same winery and contain the exact same percentage of alcohol (13.8), and both have very long finishes that linger about long after the last swallow. Yet these wines are also oh so different on both the nose and taste. The Kocsis Chardonnay is made from 30 year old vines, the nose is big, and so is the palate. Big buttery smells of vanilla, butterscotch/toffee, hazelnut/almond and quite woody. Taste-wise it sits heavy on the palate with butterscotch/caramel, butter and lots of smoky wood notes. By contrast, the Aberdeen is made from 10 year old vines and shows more subtly and more delicacy. Soft vanilla, hint of pineapple and just a light smear of butter. Palate continues this delicacy with creamy sweet vanilla, mac apple, pineapple and a thin coating of butteriness. This comes down to a personal preference choice when it comes to the kind of Chardonnay you like. There’s the heavy handed wood version (Kocsis) or the delicate fruit version (Aberdeen) – my scores are based on my liking of the one kind over the other (the delicacy over the brutish). If you like your Chardonnays rich with oak reverse the scores. Price for both: $44.95 – Rating: Aberdeen (****½); S Kocsis (***½)