Chaberton delivers excellent value

Photo: Winemaker Gary Zhygailo

Langley’s Chaberton Estate Winery stands apart from many of its competitors for the eye-popping affordability of its wines, including two wines currently selling at $15 a bottle. I am telling all my wine-drinking friends to snap up these bargains while they last.

This was the first winery to be established in the Fraser Valley. The founders were Claude and Inge Violet, who had come to Canada from France in 1979. Claude’s family had been in the wine and spirits business for generations. One of Claude’s ancestors created an enormously successful digestive drink called Byrrh. Claude’s father merged the business with that of two competitors, a deal that left the Violet family more than comfortable. Claude chose the Fraser Valley rather than the Okanagan because of its milder maritime climate (the hard winter of 1978–79 had just devastated Okanagan vineyards). He bought a farm south of Langley, almost on the US border, and bulldozed the soil into a gentle south-facing slope for the vineyard, almost 50 acres in size. He started planting in 1982 with Bacchus vines imported from a nursery in Germany, a variety bred a decade earlier to mature in cool climates. It became the winery’s flagship white.

The Violets (who have since died) sold the winery in 2004 to a wine-loving Hong Kong businessman, Anthony Cheng, and his partner, Vancouver lawyer Eugene Kwan. Anthony’s refined palate is reflected in the only expensive wine in the portfolio, a $70 red blend called AC. Anthony has often had a hand in putting the blend together. Since the Fraser Valley is no place to grow big reds like Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah, Chaberton buys grapes from an extensive network of growers in the interior. Those growers include the legendary Sam Baptiste who manages Inkameep Vineyards at Oliver. I was surprised to find a grape called Chancellor, a red hybrid, in the Chaberton Red blend. I thought it had all been pulled out in 1988 even though it was one of the better hybrids. It turns out that Sam still grows a bit and Chaberton found a home for it. It was Claude Violet who started buying Okanagan grapes. Chaberton’s early portfolio was all white wines. The winery opened just as the “French Paradox” craze for red wines made it hard to sell whites. Claude sponsored a grower on Black Sage Road to plant red varietals just in time to save Chaberton’s commercial prospects.

Over the years, Chaberton has employed several winemakers, notably Elias Phiniotis, a well-known consulting winemaker from the Okanagan. Currently, Chaberton’s winemaker is Gary Zhygailo who is, to the best of my knowledge, the only Ukrainian-trained winemaker in British Columbia. Gary (an Anglicized version of his given name, Gennadi) grew up in a wine region not far from the Black Sea. He earned a bachelor’s degree in food science in 2002 from the Odessa National Academy of Food Technologies, followed by a master’s degree in Fermentation and Winemaking Technology in 2003. He then began working as a cellar hand with a large Ukrainian winery and was the cellar manager in 2009. Before joining Chaberton in 2016 as a cellar assistant, he worked in several areas of the wine industry, including as an oenologist and technical sales representative for a French producer of oenology equipment. At Chaberton, he soon was promoted to chief winemaker. Look for him at the Chaberton table at the Vancouver International Wine Festival at the end of February where he will be pouring, among other wines, the AC blend. Here are notes of some of the current wines.

Chaberton White 2022 ($14.95). The blend for this wine changes from year to year, no doubt challenging (or stimulating) the winemaker. Sixteen different white varietals are in this blend with Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Madeleine Angevine, Siegerrebe, Sovereign Opal, Madeleine Angevine and Riesling leading the troop. Suffice it to say that there is a lot of fruit in the aroma and the palate, including peach, pear and citrus. A quaffable and very affordable wine. 90.

Chaberton Gewürztraminer 2022 ($18.95 for 506 cases). There is five per cent Siegerrebe to turbocharge what is already a spicy varietal. The winemaker gave the grapes short skin contact to further extract aromas and flavours. The wine begins with aromas of spice and rose petals. On the palate, there are flavours of lemon, tangerine orange and ginger. The finish is persistent. There is a touch of residual sugar but the wine is very well balanced, with a refreshing finish. 90.

Chaberton Estate Grown Bacchus 2022 ($18.95). Made with fruit from the estate vineyard, this is a flagship white at Chaberton. It has aromas and flavours of lime and lemon meringue pie. The bright acidity is well-balanced; the wine has a crisp finish. 90.

Chaberton Pinot Gris 2022 ($18.95 for 1,778 cases). Cold-soaked on the skins for 23 hours to give this wine a hue the winery calls “sunset coral.” Nine per cent of Chardonnay is in the blend. The fruit was co-fermented in stainless steel and aged two months on the lees. The wine begins with aromas of pear and apple. The juicy palate delivers flavours of peach, grapefruit and cantaloupe, also a result of prolonged time on the skins. 9o.

Chaberton Pink 2022 ($18.95 for 1,056 cases). The blend is 71% Zweigelt, 13% Viognier, 8% Chardonnay and 8% Madeleine Sylvaner/Gewürztraminer/Pinot Gris. The Zweigelt Viognier blend underwent 48 hours of skin contact together to obtain that deep pink colour. The free run juice was joined by Chardonnay and Madeleine Sylvaner. The wine was fermented for 15 days at moderate temperatures and aged one month on the lees in stainless steel. The wine has aromas of raspberry and cherry, leading to flavours of strawberry, rhubarb and watermelon. 89.

Chaberton Valley Chardonnay 2021 ($18.95 for 501 cases). This wine was made with Okanagan fruit. It was aged on the lees in stainless steel for five months, and then racked into stainless steel for 12 months to preserve the body and floral notes. There are aromas of apple leading to flavours of apple and stone fruit. 89.

Chaberton Barrel Aged Chardonnay 2021 ($23.50 for 237 cases). Made with Okanagan fruit, this wine was fermented in barrel and aged nine months on the lees in Burgundy barrels (40% new), while undergoing malolactic fermentation. The wine has aromas of butter, vanilla, coconut and ripe apple. On the rich palate, the flavours echo the aromas and lead to a long, satisfying finish. 91.

Chaberton Red 2021 ($14.95). This is undoubtedly the best bargain BC red on the market. The winery released it in a variety of sizes, from a 250 ml can to a 16-litre package. The price here is for 750 ml. The wine is a blend of 31% Chancellor, 25% Merlot, 11% each of Cabernet Franc and Gamay, 7% each of Cabernet Foch and Pinotage, 6% Zweigelt and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a juicy, drinkable wine with aromas and flavours of cherries, plums, spice and oak. 89.

Chaberton Merlot 2019 ($26.95 for 1,007 cases). There is 5% Cabernet Franc blended into this wine. 33% of wine was aged in brand new oak and 67% in neutral oak for 24 months. The wine begins with aromas of cassis and blueberry. The palate is packed with fruit, including dark cherry and black currant, with notes of chocolate and cedar on the finish. 92.

Chaberton Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 ($26.95 for 765 cases). This wine is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 8% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The wine was aged 29 months in barrel (71% new, 29% neutral oak). This is a big wine, beginning with aromas of cassis and dark fruits, echoed on the palate with flavours of plum, dark cherry and black currant. The tannins are long and polished. 91.

Chaberton Meritage 2019 ($28.95 for 686 cases). The blend is 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot/Malbec. Long barrel-aging has polished the ripe tannins. The wine has aromas and flavours of cassis, blueberry, cherry and spice. 91.

Chaberton Syrah 2019 ($32 for 288 cases). This is 88% Syrah, 14% Cabernet Franc. The wine was aged for 26 months in new oak barrels (70% American, 30% French). This is a bold wine with aromas of cloves, dark cherry and chocolate. The rich palate delivers flavours of cherry, blueberry, fig and pepper. 93.