La Stella - Leggiero Chardonnay 2022

 Severine Pinte is winemaker with two of the Okanagan’s most interesting wine projects, Le Vieux Pin and La Stella. Both under the same ownership, the former is more French/Rhône oriented, while the second is a Canadian Super Tuscan, making Italian-style wines in a winery with Tuscan Villa architecture. And now there’s a third in the portfolio: natural wine project Artakama. All are owned by the same couple from Vancouver, and share the same philosophy: vineyard first. Pinte and her team pay a lot of attention to the soils, climates and vines. Severine, an agronomy engineer from France, arrived in Canada in 2010. Her training was in Montpellier. She’s been making the wines at Le Vieux Pin since 2010 and La Stella since 2012.

Fresh, bright Chardy from the southern Okanagan? In Sev's hands, comes naturally. From 2 vineyards on the Golden Mile, and one at the foot of the Eagle Bluff on the eastern side of Oliver. One block fermented into concrete nico vello, with the rest in wood, all with ample lees time for texture. Picking early helps preserve the pH and bright acidity here, with shining lemon, green apple, and pear skin. There's a lovely fine texture coming from the concrete, well set off against the lees and pure fruit. Quite characterful.