Mason Vineyard L’avenir Chardonnay Unfiltered 2021 Wine Review

Mason Vineyard L’avenir Chardonnay Unfiltered 2021

Tweinty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada

Community Score:95/100

Community Reviews: 1

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Price: $45.00

Drink: 2023-2025

Bottle size: 750 ml

Alcohol: 12.5%

Sweetness: Extra Dry

Wine Type: White Wine

Winery: Mason Vineyard

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Reviews and Ratings

Alana L rated this wine as 95/100 with the following review:

Yowzah… This is the kind of Chardonnay that makes me very, very, very embarrassed to say that I was once, woefully, a member of the ABC Club (yes, that’s ‘Anything But Chardonnay’ club.).

Because… I had one too many dates with the overly oaked, heavy, vanilla’ey (not a real term, I know…), buttery (in a bad way, like the bottom of a movie theater popcorn bag) kind… And, let’s be honest, partly out of ignorant snobbery was I a proud ABC card carrying member (who would also claim that she loved Chablis… before learning that Chablis is… 100% Chardonnay, oops…). I mean, let’s face it, few grape varieties elicit a knee-jerk reaction like Chardonnay does. You (proclaim) to love it, or you (proclaim) to hate it but you rarely proclaim to be indifferent about it.

And yet… so far are we here, and in so many Chardonnays, from the heavy, cloying, overly toasted Chards… (No hate here if that’s your thing, it’s just not mine, or at least not usually. There’s a time and a place for everything).

And so today, for #ThirstyThursday and in honor of the I4C (Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration @coolchardonnay ) that I am lamentably missing this year (overly full schedule be damned) I opened this beautiful crisp, barely oaked 2021 ‘L’avenir’ Chardonnay (Unfiltered) from Kelly Mason at Mason Vineyard (Fun fact: Kelly was born and raised in Montreal before becoming a well-traveled and sought after expert in Burgundian varietals.) But back to this Chard…

I had the pleasure of meeting Kelly (virtually) on a few wine panels and talks, and (personally) when I was in the Niagara wine region last month (and from which I brought back some goodies including this stunner). One of her estate wines, i.e., from her personal vineyard (in her own words, these wines represent ‘…the answer to my question - what would happen if I could make all the decisions and bottle what I think is best off of this site?).

In a nutshell as I have now wordily run long on this review: Divine. Crisp. Fresh. Lean. Tickly acidity. A pinch of salt. Tart fruit. A slip of butter.

She calls it racy. I call it exceptional wine.

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Mason Vineyard L’avenir Chardonnay Unfiltered 2021 Wine Review