“I love Chardonnay. I could bathe in Chardonnay. I could drink it by the bucket full.” These are quotes from Jeff Aubry (owner of Coyote’s Run) when he talks about Chardonnay. Obviously this is a favourite wine of his to drink, but also one of his favourites to make. Now, to be fair, Jeff doesn’t make the Chardonnay, his winemaker David Sheppard does, but Aubry signs the cheques so Dave makes the best Chardonnay he can … because lord knows, if you can’t sell it the boss has to drink it. Well I don’t think Coyote’s Run is going to have any trouble selling this Chardonnay, because it’s a beauty. The wine is aged 18 months in a mix of new and old Hungarian oak barrels, and if you have never tried a wine done in Hungarian oak this is a good place to start. The nose sucks you in with vanilla notes, tropical fruits and lemon curd. The palate has a soft and buttery vanilla sensation, there’s also lemon, pineapple core, peach pit along with some great minerality and acidity to round out the whole package. As many readers know, I am not a Chardonnay fan, in fact, I am firmly entrenched in the ABC camp – but this one helped pull me, if just ever so slightly, a little closer to the Chardonnayers’ way of seeing things. Price: $22.00 – Rating: ****½