MyWinePal: Ontario Chardonnay Review: Two Reserve Wines from Henry of Pelham

Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery location (Map courtesy Google Maps)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I received four bottles of different Chardonnay produced by Ontario’s Henry of Pelham winery. I previously tasted their more entry level wines: Henry of Pelham Family Estate Classic Chardonnay 2025 and Speck Brothers Family Tree “The Goat Lady” Chardonnay 2023. These wines were under screwcap. The next two wines that I just tasted are a step up in quality, Reserve level, and come sealed under cork. The two wines are their Henry of Pelham Three Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2025 and Henry of Pelham Speck Family Reserve Chardonnay 2024.

The winery follows Sustainable Winemaking Ontario’s world-leading standards in their farming practices since 2004. In 2017, they became one of only six Ontario wineries to be certified by the Wine Council of Ontario as following sustainable winemaking practices from vine to table. They undertake a range of steps from wetland restoration and biofiltration to reforestation and water conservation.

Here are my full tasting notes for these two wines.

My Wine Tasting Notes

Henry of Pelham Three Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2025 (ON $17.95)

About the Three Hills from the winery, “This wine is centred on our finest blocks of Chardonnay grown on three particular hills. The first is a shovel planted field-mix of clones from the north-eastern side of our Homestead Vineyard, the top of a saddle-back, planted in 1988. Its internal diversity brings complexity through its beautiful imperfection. Second, from the south-western corner of Homestead, is what we call ‘The Turtle’s Back’, a site which drains four ways and delivers lushness from the varied exposures that are enhanced by the precise flavours of clone 95’s small clusters. These vines are trained low to the ground to capture ambient heat which warms the vines early in the day. Lastly, overlooking all is, is the third hill, near the middle of our Stagecoach Vineyard. This large single block of clone 302 rounds out the robust and harmonious character of the Three Hills Chardonnay“.

Winemaker’s notes, “Gently destemmed then whole berry pressed. All juice is press-fractionated to separate the finest cut. 50% barrel fermented in barriques and 3000L foudres, 50% stainless steel fermented. Aged in European oak barriques for 6 months.”

Appearance: A clear, bright, medium-plus lemon colour.
Nose: Medium-minus intensity, intriguing aromas of apricots, sweet spices, ginger, and honey. You get the same intriguing aromas after decanting. Nice.
Palate: Dry, lighter body with a soft mouthfeel. Medium acidity. Ginger, nutmeg, apricots, honey, candied pears, and a touch of pepperiness on the palate. No change to the body or flavours after decanting.
Finish: Medium-plus length, finishing with candied pears, ginger, nutmeg spice, and a touch of pepperiness. No change to the finish after decanting.

A delicate, elegant Chardonnay with intriguing spiced aromas and flavours. No change after decanting, so enjoy this Chardonnay at your leisure.

Rating: – The Henry of Pelham Three Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2025 shows a bright medium-plus lemon colour with intriguing aromas of apricot, ginger, honey, and sweet spices that remain consistent with air. The palate is dry and lighter-bodied with a soft texture and medium acidity, offering flavours of apricot, candied pear, honey, ginger, nutmeg, and a touch of pepperiness. It finishes medium-plus in length with lingering candied pear, ginger, nutmeg spice, and pepper notes.

Henry of Pelham Three Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2025 and Speck Family Reserve Reserve Chardonnay 2024 with wines in glasses

Henry of Pelham Speck Family Reserve Chardonnay 2024 (ON $34.95)

Vineyard notes by the winery, “…this vineyard is a shovel-planted field mix of several clones interspersed within each row and farmed together. As a result, we get a unique assemblage reminiscent of the vineyards grown in Burgundy pre-195o’s. The empirical research on clones has led to quality advances, particularly in cool-wet climates like Burgundy and Niagara.”

Winemaker’s notes, “Hand-picked and whole-cluster pressed. All juice is press-fractionated to separate the finest cut. Barrel fermented in French oak with a portion in 3000L foudres. Barrel aged for 8-10 months, a portion of that being new oak.”

Appearance: A clear, bright, medium-minus intensity lemon colour in the glass.
Nose: Medium-plus to pronounced aromas of toast and pineapple, with lesser amounts of pear and butterscotch. No change to the aromas after decanting.
Palate: This wine is dry, fuller-bodied, with a round, thick mouthfeel. Medium-plus to pronounced flavours of toast, pineapple, pears, butterscotch, and pepperiness. A buttery mouthfeel. Medium-plus acidity leaves a light acidic prickle on your tongue that fades by the mid-palate. A big change with the wine becoming light bodied after decanting, with a soft mouthfeel and less pepperiness.
Finish: Medium-plus to a long length, finishing peppery and toasty, with pineapple and pear fruit flavours. Thick mouthfeel to the finish. A lighter mouthfeel and less peppery after decanting.

A big oaked Chardonnay when you first open it, with toast and pineapple aromas and flavours, but with decanting, you get a much lighter, softer version of this wine along with lighter toastiness. If you are not an oaked Chardonnay lover, you may enjoy this wine after decanting.

Rating: before decanting. The Henry of Pelham Speck Family Reserve Chardonnay 2024 shows a bright lemon colour with expressive aromas of toast and pineapple, complemented by pear and butterscotch notes. The palate is dry and full-bodied with a rich, round, buttery texture, delivering concentrated flavours of toast, pineapple, pear, butterscotch, and a touch of pepperiness balanced by fresh acidity. It finishes medium-plus to long with lingering toast, pineapple, pear, and spice, while decanting softens the wine’s weight and reduces the peppery character.