2023 Chardonnay Cote Froide

Blue Bluff Farms is located 2km south of Bayfield, On and another 2km off the shores of Lake Huron. The Armstrong Family has called the property home since the 1950s and in 2015 began planting a 5 Acre Vineyard. In 2016, 200 Vines of Chardonnay were planted by hand in gravel and sandy soil conditions which sit on the incline of what is dubbed : “The Huron Ridge. The vineyard is no till, all natural ground cover crops and allowed to flourish as nature intended.

E.S JOHNSTON FARM is located within the far North of the Huron Shores Growing Region. The vines are strategically situated within a unique soil type where part of the vineyard is located on the slopes of a decommissioned Gravel Pit. This adds minerality, strengthens the root systems of the Plants and retains heat during cooler days. The soil pH is naturally high.

Harvested October 2nd and 3rd, the Chardonnay came in at 20 Brix with a great depth of phenolic development. That cannot be said for the Harvest at Schatz. The 24 Plants were stricken with Black Mould during the rainy, wet September. Only 10kg was salvaged and added to the other Crops. This ensured “Cote Froide” Status was achieved.

The Winemaking Team allowed the wine to undergo Partial Malo Fermentation as the intent was to keep the wine fresh and bright without growing the body and/or ending mouthfeel. However, rumour has it there are some bottles in the Cellar that hold some Chardonnay that seen time with Huron County Oak Chips ... :). In January 2024, the wine was placed in the Lean-To adjacent to Hessenland for 43 chilly days and proceeded to use Nature to Cold Stabilize. Once back inside to warm up, a polite schedule of fining and filtering took place.

With Schatz having only released 1 previous Chardonnay (2020 and strictly from E.S Johnston Farms) ... it is a New Chapter for Chardonnay in Huron County.