At the 3 year mark you'd expect a winery to finally be getting a handle on things - but Pondview seems to be surpassing that notion. Hard to imagine the Niagara-on-the-Lake landscape without them, but they've only just celebrated their 3rd year. Their passion for such grapes as Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay really comes through in the bottle and in the glass. This international award winning Chardonnay from the 2011 vintage only spent 9 months in barrel, though 80% of that wood was new French (the rest was used Hungarian and American). The result is a wine with a buttery, baked apple and vanilla cream nose, while on the palate peach and butter poached pear mix with tropical fruit leading to a long lingering finish. A little longer in glass (if you can keep it there for any length of time) and you'll find a vanilla-butterscotch on the mid-palate that turns into some bitterness on the finish - it works to balance that sweetness off nicely. Price: 24.95 - Rating: ****+