Posts Tagged chardonnay

Ok – so here’s a wine for all of the ABC Haters out there. This wine really rocks and of course was featured for a steal of a price about a month ago on Wine Library. Normally priced around $20, this was only $13, and well worth probably the normal $17-$20 found elsewhere. This wine, from the Russian River Valley has a big buttery rich mouthful with good acidity that helps to round out its finish.

C. Donatiello

The wine has a nose of lemon custard, apples and peaches. First thing I notice is a great body, where it has good weight in the taste. There is also a little mineral quality. There are flavors of apple, pear, peach and lemon, along with the custard and butter finish. Also get a little banana and kiwi, along with melon. The bracing, cool acidity mixes in with the rich fruit flavors to create a really well made wine. Overall, I’m very impressed with this Chardonnay, and would have to rate it a borderline outstanding. All in all, a solid effort.

I’ve been coming back again to Chardonnay, particularly from California lately. I think it’s for two reasons. One, the quality has improved and also the style has changed quiet a bit. We’ve moved from over-oaked flabby wines to steely, piercing wines, and now are starting to settle somewhere in the middle. I’m finding a good number of wineries both mid-priced and high-end playing around with what makes the most enjoyable wine at a higher quality.

Bernardus Chardonnay

I was able to get the 2007 Bernardus Central Coast Chardonnay for around $15. This wine does seem to fall somewhere in between the big buttery chards of old and the new mouth-puckering acidic Burgundy-style wines. And while I’m a fan of the later, sometimes, a simple enjoyable glass of Chardonnay is all you need. This wine does have some character to it however. The nose is full of cinnamon and apple blossom. There are also hints of lemon custard.

The flavor complexion moves from full bodied, with apples, pears, melon and pineapple, with a good attack on the mid-palate. There is a decent amount of malolactic fermentation present, but it doesn’t make the wine too buttery or milky. Instead, it added subtle body to the finish which does round nicely with the acidic-lemon-lime swirl at the end. I’m pretty high on this wine in terms of the level of complexity and its unique dimensions that are easy to decipher.

Overall, this is a very drinkable wine, and I think the price point matches up well with the overall QPR. Keep in mind however, that I’ve seen this wine selling in the mid-twenties. I think at that price, the wine starts to get a little overvalued. At $15-18, it instead delivers a very solid wine, that for California, stays right in the middle of flavor tastes. Because of that, I’d think this would be a crowd pleaser. I’m rating this wine a Borderline Outstanding.

From one of our favorite wineries comes the Thieriot Vineyards 2006 Chardonnay. This chardonnay tends to exhibit a rich creamy toffee flavor and is in most years a very rich buttery Napa Chardonnay. This wine however seems to be a little more acidic then those we’ve had in the past. I’ve been impressed with aggressive nature of the wine. Its definitely a wine that needs a little air before you can appreciate its full potential.

Early on, it possesses alot of lemon custard and green herbaiousness. After about 4 hrs however it start to mellow out and becomes more buttery and possess carmel coloring and flavors. There still considerable acidity however. That seems to be a constant here.

Neyers Thieriot Chardonnay

Overall, it might not be the strongest showing for this wine. Not sure if was an off year, but it seems that the push towards Burgundy-style has made this wine a little too austere. I’ve got to put this wine somewhere between Drinkable and Brick Solid. Its not a bad wine by any means, but I think at the $45 price tag, its hard to say this is quiet living up to its cost. I still love Neyers but this one missed a little for me.

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.

2005 Neyers Napa Chardonnay

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

2005 Pride Chardonnay

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

Here are some other chardonnay selections from California and beyond.

2003 Three Saints Chardonnay

This wine had a lemony explosion of flavor.  This $24 central Californian Chardonnay was a little on the acidic side. There was nice fruit in the wine, with apples, pears and a little caramel hiding at the edges.  I think it was tough at times to taste the classic Chardonnay body underneath the acidic nature of the wine.

Rating: 87-88 pts

2005 Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay Dominique Russian River Valley

This wine possessed a nose of butter and baked apples. The taste was like fall in a glass with baked apples, cinnamon, spice and a buttery crust. There was a good bit of malolatic fermentation that gives a lot of roundness and a slightly noticeable oak. This was a rich big wine. I also still had some great acidity that helps to balance the richness. It would make the perfect wine for the holidays. Priced around $40

Rating: 93pts

2006 Tolosa Chardonnay Edna Ranch

Here was an interesting wine, full of gravel and chalky notes. There was a distinct mineral quality. The wine wasn’t overly rich through had a nice depth. Lots of acidity on the wine means it might evolve a little over time. There was a little bit of a bitter taste on the end of the wine that was disappointing. Priced around $15.

Rating: 88pts

2006 Pierre Herni Chardonnay

This French chardonnay was a really nice find, especially for the price of around $7. The wine had a nice richness, possessing apples and lemon custard flavors. The wine had good body, all while being light and slightly crisp. The nose had some hints of almond and wet stones integrated. The finish was round and smooth and quiet refreshing. For the price and quality, I found the wine to be a great deal.

Rating: 89pts

2006 Step Rd Blackwing Chardonnay

This was a nice interesting wine. The flavors focused on a lemon-crisp style similar to Chablis. The mid-plate still possessed some rich layers of toffee and custard. The wine had a nice balance of acidity with a soft texture. The wine reminds me of key lime pie. This wine is a good value at around $12.

Rating: 90pts