LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2023

A SMOOTH, CREAMY CROWD‑PLEASER Santa Carolina Chardonnay Reserva LCBO 304022, $14.95

The tastes of pear, mango and toasted hazelnuts spring to mind with this middle-weight, silky beauty from Chile’s Maule Valley. South American Chardonnays continue to give exceptional value for money. LIVELY, ELEGANT PARTY WINE Villa Maria Private Bin Chardonnay East Coast LCBO 13293, $20 Light on its feet despite the touch of oak, with peach, melon and tangy citrus notes. New Zealand is best known for Sauvignon Blanc but also offers very attractive Chardonnay, the fresh fruit buoyed by a crisp acidity. Perfect with a chicken Caesar salad. WORLD-CLASS NIAGARA CHARDONNAY Le Clos Jordanne Le Grand Clos Chardonnay VQA VINTAGES 184549, $49.95 One of Niagara’s handful of true benchmarks, it offers a daz zling balance of elegance and intensity, full of complex fruit and mineral notes with a subtly poised acidity. Judicious French oak is in there, too. An all-round class act from stellar winemaker Thomas Bachelder.

Chardonnay Remember the ABC “Anything But Chardonnay” movement of a decade ago? It was a (rather childish) reaction to Chardonnay’s ubiquity on wine lists and in vineyards around the world. There was a reason for the grape’s popularity: it can make arguably the most delectable white wines of all, especially in cool-climate regions such as Ontario and, of course, Burgundy, where the grape evolved—a wild cross of Pinot Noir and a variety called Gouais Blanc, believed to have originated in Croatia. Now, its reputation is fully restored, and we can sip our Chardonnay with an easy conscience, revelling in a range that encompasses everything from Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne and crisp, dry Chablis to some voluptuously tropical, oaky giant from Australia or California—and myriad styles in between. Something of a blank canvas for a winemaker, Chardonnay is delightfully easy to grow. Enjoying it is as simple as ABC.

140 FOOD & DRINK HOLIDAY 2023