2023 Bear Chardonnay

2023 Bear Chardonnay

With a nod to Tantalus proprietor Eric Savics’ eldest son Eric Jr., aectionately known to many over the years as “Bear”, this wine was crafted with youthfulness and approachability in mind. 

Pouring a pale gold, a racy aromatic profile emerges from the glass with top notes of lemon pith, fresh sea breeze and Granny Smith apple. Layers of orange zest and white rose follow in closely behind. The palate is layered with fresh peach, marzipan, lemon cream and a mineral salinity. A slightly chalky yet rounded texture comes from 10 months on lees in old barrels.

WINEMAKER'S NOTES

Chardonnay crops in the north part of the Okanagan Valley were once again scarce for the 2023 vintage. As a result, we acted to thoughtfully pursue sources of Chardonnay beyond our estate borders. We managed to secure a small parcel from another East Kelowna slopes vineyard and a slightly larger parcel of Chardonnay from the Naramata Bench to supplement our crop.

The 2023 Bear Chardonnay reflects the high quality growing season and while the source material is new to this wine the same style remains. Upon pressing, the wine was fermented using ambient (wild) yeast in a combination of older barriques and puncheons. The wine spent 10 months on fermentation lees with only partial malolactic fermentation pursued. The focus was on capturing the first flavour window of each vineyard allowing the wine to remain fresh and vibrant like its predecessors, with a light oak character..

TECHNICAL INFO

Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Alcohol: 13.2%
Residual Sweetness: .69 g/L
pH: 3.34
Total Acidity: 5.9 g/L

  • VINTAGE NOTES

    2023 was a rollercoaster of a growing season. Following an extreme cold snap in late December 2022, the vines were slow to emerge. Bud break occurred in early May. From there it was a race against the vintage as the vines grew incredibly fast. Low rainfall and high temperatures were the hallmark of the start of the season.

    The main part of the growing season and the ripening period were also very warm with little rainfall but high humidity. As a result of the winter damage, the crop was small and intensely flavoured which resulted in earlier than average picking dates for most varieties. The additional challenge of wildfires in our region at the end of August meant that nuanced winemaking
    choices were key for this vintage.