wine review: Cloudsley Cellars 2020 Foxcroft Vineyard Chardonnay, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Ontario, Canada

August 2024

Matt’s review: Each year Cloudsley Cellars are producing some of the best expressions of Canadian Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from their winery situated along the Twenty Mile Bench of the Niagara Peninsula. Their 2020 Foxcroft Vineyard Chardonnay is no exception. Proprietor Adam Lowy and winemaker Matt Smith source the grapes for this wine from a select parcel of the highly acclaimed Wismer Foxcroft Vineyard along the Twenty Mile Bench. Foxcroft Vineyard was planted in 1996 with Dijon Clone 96, and for the past two decades Foxcroft Vineyard has been renowned for producing many of the region’s best wines, earing it a Cru-quality reputation, arguably one of the best single vineyards in the region, if not the best.

Cloudsely’s 2020 Foxcroft Vineyard Chardonnay shows great intensity and purity of fruit on the nose with expressive apple, pear, citrus fruit and minerality. The palate repeats with great freshness and tension leading to a spicy orchard fruit and mineral finish. An outstanding single vineyard Chardonnay you can enjoy over the next decade with autumn harvest meals, BBQ chicken or pork tenderloin, and grilled fish with lemon butter sauce. Tasted April 2024. 94+ points. Matt Steeves – http://www.quercusvino.ca

Available winery-direct $60