Wine enthusiasts may associate vertical tastings with red wines due to the perception that red wines are more age worthy. However, the Chardonnay is one white wine variety that can also lend itself to cellaring and then appreciating later on. Granite Heights Winery offered a master class on this subject recently, and we can report that Chardonnay can indeed reveal its wisdom over time.
The vertical tasting of Chardonnays featured vintages from 2014 through 2020 with the exception of 2019. Winemaker Luke Kilyk kicked off the tasting with a brief history of his experience with the Chardonnay grape and admitted that 2014 was his year to learn; therefore, he opted to retain 2% residual sugar to produce a wine that was pleasing to all palates. However, experience taught him that Chardonnay can be elegant and expressive in regard to place and vintage. The 2014 vintage, therefore, offered a drier palate with a refreshing acidity and bright apple notes. The 2017 vintage can be described as Burgundian with more finesse than its older siblings while the 2018, a wetter growing season, was treated to more oak to present a rounder, fuller-bodied mouth feel. The profile with this one was dominated by pear and pineapple notes with a generous oak kiss at the finish. The 2020 offering, though young, promises to continue in the same vein as its more immediate predecessors with perhaps a greater similarity to the 2017 vintage.
We attended this event with friends who are also Virginia wine lovers, and we paired our vertical flight with the salmon dinner. A vote among the gang of four left me in the minority on which vintage was the favorite—-three of us gave top honors to the lovely 2017 vintage while I, forever beholden to oak, favored 2018. Salmon is a fish that offers flavor and weight, and the 2018 paired most favorably for me. My second choice was—-2017. We all appreciated Luke’s journey as a winemaker; although 2014 was the sweetest of the vintages poured that evening, it did allow us to understand the process of a winemaker discovering his talent. We also enjoyed it with the salmon—-never knock sweeter wines with a fuller-bodied dish or something that is heavily spiced.
I’ve been screaming Yay for Chardonnay even when others were cheering Yay for Viognier. I’ll take the Chardonnay any day! Please visit Granite Heights Winery to taste their excellent wines, especially the Chardonnay. Of course, you must mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!
It does appear that there is a rainbow on the horizon after the Covid storm disrupted our lives. The resulting isolation and then socializing within bubbles may be bursting as vaccines make us all less wary of resuming our pre-Covid lives. Paul and I are now reconnecting with friends who have been seen either through computer screens or messaged via chats. It was therefore a welcome relief to meet up with our friend Erica Johansson, who is also a Virginia wine aficionado. This also gave us the opportunity to reconnect with the Virginia wine trails to discover new (to us in some cases) wineries, and this was the case with a visit to 
As we tasted through our flight of wines, Ken filled us in on Williams Gap story. Virginia wine lovers may recognize the Williams Gap designation from the red blends poured at Delaplane Cellars. Those grapes do indeed come from the Williams Gap Vineyard. Owner Jack Sexton planted the vineyard on the Williams Gap site in 2006 and sold the grapes to area wineries including Delaplane Cellars. Sexton decided that Williams Gap would pursue its own rather recently, and 36 of the 200 acres of Williams Gap property is currently planted with vines. Additional plantings of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc will result in another 14 acres of vines planted. Current case production is 1300, and wine production takes place under the skilled direction of Rob Cox at Paradise Springs. Expect to see a Rosé to be released in June. The tasting room has been open since the end of April.