Chardonnay, Hold the Butter
Here’s a couple of Napa Valley chardonnays that I’ve tried fairly recently. Napa seems to have fully made the transition from over-oaked butterball wines to something a little more reminiscent of the Burgundian-style wines of France. Much more focus on the fruit and the acidity of the wines, allowing them to shine without a ton of manipulation. Both Pride and Neyers were definitely on the leading edge with this style and have helped push out the oak monsters.
We took this wine to our favorite ‘BYOB’ restaurant in New Jersey. It had not been chilled prior to opening. I actually found it good both at room temperature and also chilled. There was a lot of carmel, oak and earthiness at room temperature. When it was slightly chilled, it had a little more of the crisp acidity flavor.
This winery always produces solid values. This wine is no exception with classic Napa richness and caramel notes. These flavors mix with apples and pears. The wine is not buttery by any means. It is just a nice middle of the road wine between the California and Burgundy styles. Priced around $25.
Rating: 90 pts
The nose from this wine was full of lemon and herbal scents, along with noticeable caramel notes. The flavor at first was a little muted, not tasting as strong as the nose would have indicated. The wine exhibited notes of honey, custard and lemon. However the flavors, for a wine of this quality, came across weak. The finish was smooth and rich, though not lengthy. Priced around $35, this wine did not have a great quality-price ratio (QPR) as would have been expected.
Rating: 88 pts
No Comments to “Chardonnay, Hold the Butter”