Chardonnay is a wine that you can enjoy oaked or unoaked, rich or lean, still or sparkling. A wine that can be enjoyed all year long. I received a bottle of BC’s Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Estate Cuvée Chardonnay 2022 to review for you. I was quite excited as their wines are always of consistent quality. Let me tell you about it.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Estate Cuvée Chardonnay 2022 (BC $30 at the winery)
The grapes for this wine were hand-harvested and whole-cluster pressed. Fermented using indigenous yeasts on the estate. The pressed juice was barrel fermented and aged for 14 months in new and 4th fill 228 litre French oak barrels. The wine also underwent malolactic fermentation which converts the tarter malic acid in the wine to softer lactic acid, which also can give the wine a buttery texture and flavour. The winery notes that this wine can age another 4-6 years.
Appearance: This wine has a clear, bright medium-plus intensity lemon colour.
Nose: It has a medium-plus intensity aromas of toast and ripe pineapple the most, followed with lesser amounts of roasted apple and oak. No change to the aromas after decanting.
Palate: It is dry, with a medium-plus body and pronounced flavour intensity. It is very smooth with a soft buttery texture; lightly round, not quite mouth-filling. Ripe pineapple, roasted apples and toast on the palate along with a touch of pepperiness and nutmeg on the mid-palate to the finish. Butterscotch with swirling. The medium-intensity acidity sits in the background. No change to the flavours or mouthfeel after decanting.
Finish: A long length, finishing with pineapple, citrus, nutmeg, butterscotch, toast and pepperiness. A more buttery mouthfeel on the finish after decanting.
A quality, elegant oaked Chardonnay. This wine gets more complex with swirling in the glass. No need to decant.
Rating: 
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The Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Estate Cuvée Chardonnay 2022 shines with a bright lemon hue and aromas of ripe pineapple, toast, roasted apple, and oak. On the palate, it offers a smooth, buttery texture with pronounced flavours of pineapple, roasted apples, and toast, complemented by nutmeg and butterscotch. A long finish features citrus, butterscotch, and pepperiness, with a slightly more buttery mouthfeel after decanting.
Cheese
This wine pairs nicely with Quebec’s Oka cheese. I enjoy the aroma and creaminess of the cheese as it meshes with the oak and butteriness of the wine, plus the background acidity in the wine. Medium-plus intensity aromas mainly of toast and ripe pineapple. It is dry, with a medium-plus body and pronounced flavour intensity. It is very smooth with a soft buttery texture. Ripe pineapple, roasted apples and toast on the palate along with a touch of pepperiness and nutmeg on the mid-palate to the finish. A long finish.
A Look Back at the 2020 Vintage
The last time I reviewed Blue Mountain’s Estate Cuvée Chardonnay was their 2020 vintage. I did not look at my review or rating until after I had tasted the 2022 vintage and rated it. I was quite surprised to see that my tasting notes are nearly identical and I gave both vintages the same star rating. Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars has consistent quality. You can read my review of the Estate Cuvée Chardonnay 2020 at this link.
Where Can I Buy This Wine?
You can purchase this delicious wine through the Blue Mountain website. In Vancouver, it is available at Marquis Wine Cellars downtown, at Legacy Liquor store and at Everything Wine stores.
