One of my salesman has been talking about getting Canadian wines for at least a month now. Honestly, I've just been chuckling about it every time he mentioned them. I'm not saying I have anything against Canadian wine, I'm just saying I've never had a Canadian wine that I loved. Matter of fact, I've never had a Canadian wine, ever. Thank you Jim for this little sample tonight.
This bottle of Norman Hardie Chardonnay is labeled as "VQA Niagara Peninsula VQA" which I'm not entirely sure I understand. The logo on the back of the bottle states "Ontario Vintners Quality Alliance" with a 7 digit alpha-numeric code. I'm guessing this is something like the DOC system combined with the coding on a bottle of Champagne. I'll find out more just as soon as I can. For tonight, we'll just have to focus on the wine.
The picture shows a little bit of bubbles, but that's purely because of my vigorous pour. The nose has burgundy written all over it, finely integrated oak without being "california oaky" and over the top. There's some nice fruit and minerality poking though, but the nose is dominated by that soft and firm oak that can only be described as French-style. The back of the label also reads "The vines and oak barrels are from France. The limestone soil and ideal climate are in Southern Ontario. The taste and nose are from me. Enjoy." Well, that answers some of the questions about the oak!
The body and mouthfeel are beautiful! The oak is seamlessly integrated, not too much, not too little. There's very little of that california butter-bomb feel, the closest thing I could possibly compare the Norman Hardie to is a great bottle of Meursault. The alcohol is soft, the back label shows only 11.9% abv.
All in all, I am thoroughly impressed! The guys at Artisan Wines have done it again, and selected some incredible wines from a unique place that is distinctly unique. Not only is the Norman Hardie Chardonnay unique, but I am sincerely surprised at not only it's quality for a Canadian wine, but it's quality for a chardonnay from anywhere. Sign me up, we're going to be putting this wine on our shelves very soon!
Norman Hardie Chardonnay
Ontario, Canada
TCSH Rating - 12/10
Aka - The first Chardonnay to blow my mind in quite some time!
Eli
Bibo Ergo Sum
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