Black Bank Hill 2023 Chardonnay

Medium golden straw colour. Aromas of quince, Meyer lemon, brioche, caramel, oak. A rich and elegant palate continues with layered flavours poached pear, clover honey, yellow apple, lemon meringue pie, paw paw, and pineapple.  Full-bodied, medium-plus acidity, with a very long finish.

Pairs well with roast chicken, grilled pork, seared scallops, lobster, rich white fish, mushroom dishes, and creamy cheeses.

Enjoy through 2036

100% chardonnay, clones 95 and 548, grown and hand-harvested at Black Bank Hill on October 3 and 10, 2023 at 22.4 and 22.2 brix respectively.

50% of the grapes were whole-bunch pressed directly into barrel, and 50% were de-stemmed and lightly crushed prior to being given 24-hours skin contact prior to being pressed. Both factions were racked into mostly third-use French oak barrels and fermented using wild/ambient yeasts. Élevage was 19-months on lees in same French oak. The wine was blended and estate-bottled without fining on 18 June 2025.

Acidity & pH: TA 7.23 g/L, Malic acid 1.6 g/L, pH 3.27
Sweetness: Dry on the palate containing 2.9 g/L residual sugar

About Black Bank Hill

Founded in 2017 by vintner Taylor Emerson, Black Bank Hill is a small, estate-focused winery in Beamsville, on Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment. The winery concentrates on limited-production, single-vineyard wines that express the character of its site, with an emphasis on careful farming, hand harvesting and restrained winemaking.

In the cellar, many wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts, matured primarily in French oak, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. The range spans classic Niagara varieties such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, alongside Viognier, Syrah and the Rhône-inspired Liberté, a blend of Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne. Production is often tiny, with some cuvées measured in only a few dozen cases.

Black Bank Hill has quickly established itself among Canada’s most exciting small wineries. At the 2026 National Wine Awards of Canada, it was named Best Performing Small Winery, with its 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon receiving Platinum and its Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc all earning Gold medals.

What makes the wines particularly compelling is their combination of concentration and freshness: distinctly Niagara in their acidity and structure, yet with an elegance and restraint that will be familiar to lovers of fine European wines.