CheckMate delivers another 100-point Chardonnay

Photo: Winemaker Philip McGahan

Since CheckMate Artisanal Winery opened in 2015, it has carved out a reputation in particular for its Chardonnay wines. The winery makes just Chardonnay and Merlot. The Merlot wines are also very fine but we have come to expect solid to great Merlots from the Okanagan. Even when the movie, Sideways, took a run at Merlot, the varietal did not lose significant grip with consumers. Chardonnay, on the other hand, has had to recover from the deep unpopularity of the varieties in the 1990s. It had become fashionable to declare a preference for “anything but Chardonnay.”

It was a bit of a surprise when Anthony von Mandl decided to create a winery on the Golden Mile Bench with a speciality in super-premium Chardonnays. Those at CheckMate were released around $100 a bottle, give or take. A consumer at the winery once complained that he does not pay that much for a case of wine. Plenty of other consumers have since stepped up to pay what CheckMate believes its wines are worth. Many of the 2018 Chardonnays are sold out, or close to it, which is why the winery is getting ready to release the 2019s. Whether it is the Chardonnay or the Merlot, the 2019s all need to spend more time in bottle. Phil McGahan, the winemaker at CheckMate, has a fairly unique style with his wines. “We throw a fair bit of oak on these wines,” he says of the Chardonnays. Yet these are never over-oaked Chardonnays. The fruit is always the star in these complex wines while the oak is very well integrated. These are also wines which, like good white Burgundies, can age well. Since this is a young winery, we don’t really know how long the Chardonnays will continue getting better in bottle. There is no doubt that the Merlots from CheckMate are age-worthy.

It is worth observing that I have scored the Little Pawn Chardonnay at 100 points for the last three or four vintages. That is extraordinary consistency from a vineyard and a winemaker. Here are notes on the wines.

CheckMate 2019 Capture Chardonnay ($95 for 11 barrels). The fruit for this wine is from the Border Vista Vineyard which is right against the U.S. border at Osoyoos. Fermentation was entirely with wild yeast. The wine was aged 16 months in French oak (45% new). The wine begins with aromas of stone fruits, orchard blossoms and herbs. Lean on entry, the wine broadens out in the glass. It delivers flavours of Asian pear and green apple, with a salty minerality on the finish. 95.

CheckMate 2019 Queen Taken Chardonnay ($125 for 16 barrels). The fruit is from the Dekleva Vineyard on the Golden Mile Bench near the winery. The 45-year-old Chardonnay vines here now are called the Dekleva Clone. The vines have been supplemented with a 2015 planted of Clone 72, sometimes called the Old Wente Clone. The grapes were fermented with wild yeast and the wine was aged 16 months in French oak (49% new). The wine, which has a moderately fleshy texture, begins with aromas of apricots and spice. That carries through to the flavours. The finish is long, with a hint of wet stone. 95.

CheckMate 2019 Queen's Advantage Chardonnay ($95 for 14 barrels). The grapes are from old vines of indeterminate clones from the Combret Vineyard, also in the Golden Mile Bench. Wild yeasts handled 70% of the fermentation. The wine was aged 16 months in French oak (50% new). The wine begins with aromas of stone fruit, quince and ginger with is echoed on the palate. The finish is long and again shows the wet stone minerality of the vineyard. 96.

CheckMate 2019 Little Pawn Chardonnay ($110 for 15 barrels). This elegant and polished wine once again demonstrates the exceptional terroir of the Jagged Rock Vineyard on the Black Sage Bench. The wine, 88% fermented with wild yeast and aged 16 months in French oak (50% new), begins with appealing aromas of peach mingled with fennel and sage. On the palate, there are flavours of stone fruits, apples and vanilla. The savoury finish refuses to quit. 100.

CheckMate 2019 Knight's Challenge Chardonnay ($95 for 15 barrels). The grapes are from the Sunset Vineyard on the Black Sage Bench, which shares some of the qualities of Jagged Rock. The wine was fermented entirely with wild yeast and was aged in French oak (47% new) for 16 months. The wine is complex, with aromas of lychee and sagebrush. The wine delivers rich layers of fruit including ripe peach and lime with a long, honeyed finish. 99.

CheckMate 2019 Fool's Mate Chardonnay ($94 for 29 barrels and one concrete egg). This wine includes fruit from five different vineyards dominated by Jagged Rock (42%) and Sunset (34%). Wild yeasts handled 58% of the fermentation. The wine was aged 16 months, with 91% aged in French barriques (42% new) and 9% aged in concrete. The wine has aromas and flavours of Asian pear and nectarine with mineral notes mingling with fruit on the finish. 93.

CheckMate 2019 Attack Chardonnay ($115 for two foudres). A foudre is a large oval cask. The fruit for this wine is 67% from the Jagged Rock Vineyard and 33% from the Border Vista Vineyard. The wine was aged 16 months in oak foudres, one of which was new. The size of the casks means that this is the most fruit-forward of the Chardonnays. The wine begins with aromas of citrus leading to flavours of peach, pear and mandarin orange with notes of honey and spice on the finish. The texture of this wine shows a seamless polish. 97.

CheckMate 2019 End Game Merlot ($95 for 17 barrels). The fruit for this wine is from vineyards on the Osoyoos Lake Bench and Black Sage Bench. Fermentation was 100% wild with extended (about 50 days) of skin contact. The wine was aged 21 months in new French oak. The wine begins with aromas of cassis, black cherry and raspberry. On the palate, there are flavours of cherry, raspberry and chocolate. 98.

CheckMate 2019 Silent Bishop Merlot ($95 for 15 barrels). The fruit for this wine is from vineyards on the west side of the south Okanagan, primarily on the Golden Mile Bench. Fermentation was 100% wild, with extended skin contact. The wine was aged 21 months in new French oak. The wine is reminiscent of a fine Bordeaux red, with aromas and flavours of blueberry and dark cherry mingled with herbs, tobacco and mocha. 96.

CheckMate 2019 Opening Gambit Merlot ($95 for 15 barrels). The fruit for this wine is from the Osoyoos Lake Bench. The grapes were fermented entirely with wild yeast; there was extended skin contact and the wine was aged 21 months in new French oak. This full-bodied wine begins with intense aromas of cassis, black cherry and raspberry that reminded one taster of Black Forest cake. The flavours echoed the aromas, along with notes of chocolate. The finish lingers. 98.

CheckMate 2019 Black Rook Merlot ($95 for 12 barrels). The fruit for this wine is from the Black Sage Bench. The grapes were fermented with wild yeast, with extended skin contact. The wine was aged 21 months in new French oak. This is a Merlot that wants to be a Cabernet Franc: it begins with aromas of brambleberries and cigar box. Layers of flavour are presented on the palate: red cherry, blackberry, blueberry and licorice. 96.