CheckMate releases another 100 point Chardonnay

In December, just before he returned to Australia, CheckMate winemaker Phil McGahan sent me the most recent releases from the winery: four Chardonnays and two Merlots. We were able to discuss the wines over Zoom, with Phil still in the mandatory two-week quarantine in Sydney. Because of the complexity of CheckMate wines, I generally have made it a point to discuss them with the winemaker before reviewing them. These are extraordinary wines. For the third time, I have found a Chardonnay that merits 100 points. Phil, who became the CheckMate winemaker in 2012, is in his native Australia on a leave of absence to help deal with some serious health issues involving related family members. He has left CheckMate in the seasoned hands of assistant winemaker Leandro Nosal and the experienced cellar crew.

Phil took a leave rather than resign because he will return to the Okanagan if his personal circumstances allow it. “It is, without doubt, one of the best areas in which I have worked,” he says. After switching from a legal career to winemaking, Phil began his wine career in Australia’s Hunter Valley and continued it with the Williams Selyem winery in Sonoma before being recruited for CheckMate, one of the most prestigious wineries owned by Anthony von Mandl. Phil acknowledges that the Okanagan’s cold winters pose some viticultural challenges. Those are manageable. The reward is that the vineyards produce fruit that is clean and pure. “In Hunter Valley and in California, it was never like that,” Phil remembers. “There was always the pressure of being in a humid area [in the Hunter]; or from the marine air and the moisture” of Sonoma. The high quality of Okanagan grapes is reflected in the purity of aroma and flavour in the CheckMate wines. CheckMate produces just Merlot and Chardonnay, selecting its fruit from Von Mandl’s best vineyards in the South Okanagan. In the past, I have awarded 100 points to both the 2015 and 2016 vintages of Little Pawn Chardonnay. For this review, I move that crown to the 2017 vintage of Fool’s Mate Chardonnay, with the 2017 Little Pawn just a nose behind. Here are notes on the wines. CheckMate Fool’s Mate Chardonnay 2017 ($80 for eight barrels, one foudre and one concrete egg).

Considerable pains are taken with making this wine and it shows in its perfection. Some 74% of the fruit comes from the Jagged Rock Vineyard on the Black Sage Bench; 11% is from Osoyoos East Bench; 5% from the Sunset Vineyard on Black Sage Bench; the remaining 10% comes from neighbouring Golden Mile vineyards near the winery. Sixty-six per cent was fermented with wild yeast. The wine was aged in a combination of French oak barrels, a French oak foudre and a concrete egg. The wine begins with aromas of peach, citrus and apple. The palate delivers intense flavours of nectarine, pear and apple mingled with herbal notes. The finish is persistent and overall impression is seamless harmony. 100.

CheckMate Knight’s Challenge Chardonnay 2017 ($85 for six barrels). The fruit for this wine comes from the Sunset Vineyard on Black Sage Bench. Some 67% was fermented with wild yeast. The wine was aged 16 months in French oak barrels (44% new). It begins with aromas of orange, guava and vanilla, leading to buttery flavours of citrus and tropical fruit. The creamy texture gives the wine richness and good length. 95.

CheckMate Little Pawn Chardonnay 2017 ($110 for eight barrels). This vintage comes close to matching the 100 point scores I awarded the two previous vintages. The fruit comes entirely from the Jagged Rock Vineyard, clearly one of the best sites on the Black Sage Bench. All of the wine was fermented with wild yeast and was aged 16 months in French oak barrels (46% new). The wine begins with a lovely perfume of rose petals and mandarin orange. On the tightly structured palate, there are flavours of mandarin and peach mingled with herbs and hints of salinity. The finish is crisp. 98.

CheckMate Attack Chardonnay 2017 ($115 for one foudre). Some 67% of the fruit is from the Jagged Rock Vineyard; the rest is from the Border Vista Vineyard on the Osoyoos East Bench. The winemaking here was minimal: fermentation and 16-month aging all happened in the 1,600-litre new French oak foudre, with no racking until the wine was removed briefly to stainless steel before bottling. The wine begins with aromas of citrus, apple and spice. On the palate, it delivers flavours of mandarin, lychee and spicy oak. 94.

b>CheckMate End Game Merlot 2017 ($85). The fruit for this wine is from both the Black Sage Bench and vineyards near Osoyoos. The wine, which was aged 21 months on oak, is the more immediately approachable of these two Merlots. It begins with aromas of black cherry and cassis. Those are echoed on the palate, along with a hint of spice and licorice on the finish. 96 CheckMate Silent Bishop Merlot 2017 ($85). The fruit for this wine is from vineyards on the west side of the valley, from west

Osoyoos, the Golden Mile and Oliver. The afternoon shading from the nearby mountains preserves slightly bright acidity in the fruit compared with grapes from the eastern side of the valley. This wine, also aged 21 months in oak, has aromas and flavours of black currant and black cherry with a hint of tobacco. The wine shows some youthful grip with a structure suitable for aging. 97. “We are trying to showcase the two sides of the valley – not saying this Merlot is better than the other one,” Phil says. “Consumers are 50/50 on which wine they prefer.”