MyWinePal: Two Chardonnay from Fort Berens Estate Winery, From Both Here and From TherePR SAMPLE

I have two Chardonnay from Lillooet’s Fort Berens Estate Winery. One wine, made in 2023 comes from their estate grapes, while their 2024 Chardonnay grapes come from WA state, with the wine made in Lillooet. Lillooet, as well as the Okanagan, was hit hard by the 2024 winter cold snap, killing many grape vines, necessitating the purchase of grapes from outside our province for one season. This wine is called “Here & There” for that particular reason. Here are my tasting notes for these two wines. Enjoy.

My Wine Tasting Notes

Fort Berens Estate Winery Here & There Chardonnay 2024 (BC $24.99)

Appearance: A clear, bright, medium-minus intensity lemon colour.
Nose: Medium-plus aromas of green fruit, apple, pears, and grape stem, along with a hint of blossom and vanilla. No change to the aromas after decanting.
Palate: Dry, fuller body with a round, thicker mouthfeel. Medium intensity acidic prickle Flavours of citrus and citrus rind, crisp apple and a touch of oak. Some pepperiness as well. The wine lightens up to medium body and a lighter mouthfeel after decanting. A leaner mouthfeel.
Finish: Long length, finishing with citrus rind and crisp apple, plus some pepperiness. No change to the finish after decanting.

A Chardonnay with bright aromas and flavours of citrus and apples. No need to decant, but if you do, the wine will be lighter bodied and have a leaner mouthfeel. Either way is okay.

Rating: – Fort Berens Here & There Chardonnay 2024 shows a clear, bright, medium-minus lemon colour with medium-plus aromas of green fruit, apple, pears and grape stem, plus a hint of blossom and vanilla. It is dry with a fuller body and a round, thicker mouthfeel, offering citrus and citrus rind, crisp apple, a touch of oak and some pepperiness, becoming leaner and lighter with air. The wine finishes long with citrus rind, crisp apple and some pepperiness.

Fort Berens Estate Winery Here & There Chardonnay 2024 and Reserve White Gold Chardonnay 2023 with wines in glasses

Fort Berens Estate Winery Reserve White Gold Chardonnay 2023 (BC $34.99)

Appearance: Clear, bright, medium-plus intensity lemon colour in the glass.
Nose: Quite light aromas of apples and pears along with a hint of toast. No change to the aromas or intensity after decanting.
Palate: This wine is dry, medium-plus body, round, with a light buttery mouthfeel. Pears and apples, plus touches of cinnamon and oak flavours. Medium-plus acidity leave a light acidic prickle on your tongue. The wine has a smooth, but lighter mouthfeel after decanting. The cinnamon flavour goes away and you get a touch of grape stem now.
Finish: A medium length, finishing with apples, some tartness, cinnamon and oak flavours, and a touch of vanilla. A light, buttery texture to the end. Some pepperiness and grape stem on the finish after decanting.

An understated Chardonnay. Light aromas and flavours of apples and pears, plus has a light buttery texture. I prefer the undecanted version as it is fuller bodied, keeps the touch of cinnamon, and drops the grape stem flavour.

Rating: – Fort Berens Reserve White Gold Chardonnay 2023 has a clear, bright, medium-plus lemon colour with light aromas of apples and pears, plus a subtle touch of toast. It is dry with a medium-plus body and a round, lightly buttery mouthfeel, showing flavours of pears and apples along with touches of cinnamon and oak, while medium-plus acidity adds a gentle prickle. The wine finishes with a medium length with apple, light tartness, cinnamon, oak and vanilla, gaining a hint of pepperiness and grape stem with decanting.

Tasting at the Winery

I tasted these two wines at the winery in July last year, 2025. Here are my notes from then. Compare them to now.

Fort Berens Here & There Chardonnay 2024 (BC $24.99) – “This wine was crafted by our winemaking team in Lillooet and Washington as part of our “Here & There” collection. We made this lightly oaked Chardonnay with grapes from a single vineyard in the White Bluffs region. The creamy texture of this elegant wine makes it a perfect match with roasted chicken.”

A pale lemon colour. Light vanilla and apple aromas. Dry, medium body and medium-plus acidity. Golden delicious apples, pears, along with some minerality and bitterness. Smooth mouthfeel. Medium-plus length.

Fort Berens Reserve White Gold Chardonnay 2023 (BC $34.99): “White Gold is handcrafted from the finest estate grown Chardonnay grapes from our mature Dry Creek Vineyard. This Chardonnay Reserve was naturally cold fermented and aged in select new and seasoned 400-litre French oak barrels for 7 months to create a luxurious mouthfeel.”

This wine has a deeper, more intense lemon colour. Nice medium intensity aromas of lemon, apple, and oak. Medium-plus body with a round, thicker mouthfeel. Ripe apples, toast and some sweet spices on the palate. Medium-plus acidity, leaving a touch of acidic prickle on your tongue. Some oakiness on the finish.