Tag Archives: Chardonnay

Budget Wine: Glen Ellen Reserve Chardonnay 2014

16 Friday Sep 2016

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glen ellen chardonnayA classic cheap Chardonnay from California, this shows ripe pear, melon, and a little butterscotch. It’s advertised as “sunshine in a glass” and that is exactly what it is. Bright, ebullient, almost aggressive fruit, with obvious sweetness, full bodied, with lots of weight, but sour acidity that causes the finish to fall apart—bold and clunky but suitable as a beach wine.

I chose to review this because it was designated as an excellent test case for the claim that the music you play while drinking a wine can influence how it tastes. This thesis is advanced by winemaker Clark Smith, author of Postmodern Winemaking, and for many years a top consultant for wineries seeking his expertise in winemaking technology.

According to Smith, if you listen to the Beach Boy’s California Girls while sipping this wine it will taste wonderful because the mood of the wine matches the mood of this upbeat but silly song. By contrast if you pair this wine with Ella Fitzgerald singing St. Louis Blues there is a mismatch of emotional expression. The downtempo loneliness and mournful horns feel wrong when sipping this frolicsome, sweetish, and manifestly unserious wine.

I must say I think Smith is right about this. The Beach Boy’s song makes the wine feel like it’s a bit more integrated, the acidity balances the fruit and the finish more or less holds them in place. When paired with the blues tune the harmony is more fragile. The effect is small and it doesn’t magically transform this blowsy fruit bomb into an elegant princess but there may be something to the thesis.

Try it at home.

Score: 82

Price: $6

Alc: 13.5%

Virginia Chardonnay: Pollak Vineyards 2015 vs. Cardinal Point Hopped NV

30 Tuesday Aug 2016

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pollakYou are reading that right—a hopped Chardonnay, unoaked and filtered through cascade hops at two points in the vinification process.

Everyone needs a gimmick I suppose and this certainly gets your attention.  But in fact it is quite good, not merely a gimmick but a unique expression of Chardonnay. The nose of ripe pear and lime zest has good intensity with some grassy highlights drawing your attention. Red apple on the palate evolves into intense grapefruit supported by  gentle herbal hints. The creamy texture gives way to a piquant finish where the hops are most notable, lifting its intensity and length and giving the wine pizzazz. Unlike some over-hopped IPA beer, the finish is not excessively bitter. This is a very robust Chardonnay that will stand up to strongly flavored foods.

Score: 88

Price: $20

Alc: 12.6%

But of all the Chardonnay I tasted in Virginia, the 2015 Pollak impressed me most. I tasted some with more intensity but none had the finesse and elegance that sets this wine apart. The nose is rather quiet but ripe with guava, hints of red apple and soft wisps of wet stones. The medium-weight palate is delicately threaded with citrus flavors and gently persistent acidity carrying through the languorous, subtle finish. Its silken texture is endearing and sensual not by means of an overt come-on but just by being quietly comely. It manages to be svelte, fulsome and tender at the same time. A lovely wine.

20% aged in new French Oak but with only the barest hint of toast or butter.

Virginia has anointed Viognier the state grape. But I’ve been less than impressed with them. Among whites, Chardonnay is what they do best and this is the best among those I tasted.

Score: 92

Price: $24

Alc: 13.5

Both wineries are in the Monticello AVA and use 100% estate-grown grapes in these wines.

Wine Review: Au Bon Climat Chardonnay Santa Barbara 2013

16 Tuesday Feb 2016

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au bon climatAu Bon Climat is one of the most reliable Santa Barbara producers of reasonably-priced wines. I adore their line up of Pinot Noir, so why not try their Chardonnay?  Although Chardonnay remains the white wine of choice for many consumers, there has been a backlash against it among connoisseurs and dedicated wine lovers. But when made well it is among the most satisfying of wines. It is a chameleon taking on different profiles depending on the style of the winemaker. This one reminds me of why I like Chardonnay.

Aromas of mild butterscotch framing a core of muted apricot are dominant but the aromas keep gently morphing into flinty minerality and even some hints of earthy cheese, showing myriad aspects as it sits in the glass.

Tangerine and light toast grace the medium bodied palate leading to a long, fresh finish that also doesn’t stay put, giving hints of chalk and more surging minerality until it finally settles on spiced pear to close the proceedings. Fruit and acid are well balanced.

California winemakers in years past had a tendency to over oak their Chardonnay. Today, the pendulum has swung in the other direction. But Chardonnay is a grape that shows oak well when it is restrained. Au Bon Climat doesn’t hit you over the head with it but provides enough to give the wine depth along with with full malolactic fermentation and sur lie aging –a classic style.

Delivers good value and classic restraint like John Legend’s “All of Me”

Score: 90

Price: $22

Alc: 13.5%

Wine Review: Mount Eden Chardonnay Santa Cruz 2012

12 Tuesday Jan 2016

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mt eden chardChardonnay remains the favorite white wine among consumers. But among wine connoisseurs, sommeliers, and wine writers, the anything-but-Chardonnay crowd appears to be winning. The explanation for Chardonnay’s diminishing reputation is not hard to discern. We grew tired of the flabby, oaky, buttery monsters coming out of California in the early 2000s and began to search for something with more finesse. Winemakers have backed off that dated style and most Chardonnays today are  more restrained, with less overt oak, and more acidity. But the problem is that Chardonnay, left to its own devices, is not very interesting. It lacks the range of Riesling or the intensity of Sauvignon Blanc. It benefits from some careful but creative winemaking, a little oak, some resting on the lees, judicious malolactic fermentation, etc.

Chardonnay is like most of us. Naked we’re nothing special. But with a good tailor and some dressing up we can make make a good showing.

Yet every once in awhile someone strikes a perfect balance of pure Chardonnay fruit expression and the deft use of oak that marries classic Chardonnay style with a contemporary mineral-driven flair. When that happens it’s an unbeatable grape. This one from Mt. Eden comes close to some of the better wines of Burgundy.

An introduction of buttered toast, hazelnuts and roasted pear with floral highlights gives way to lemony citrus aromas exhibiting great clarity and focus. In the mouth it’s creamy elegance, soft but vibrant evolving splendidly into a burst of bright mineral matchstick tones and a long graceful finish of green apple.

Sophisticated with a toney, uptown attitude—10 months on the lees in a mix of new and 1 year-old French oak will do that. Full malolactic fermentation.

Toney, up-town sophistication. Only Steely Dan gets this right.

Score: 94

Price: $60

Alc: 13.5%

Thanks to the Sommelier Company for making this available.

Wine Review: Soter Vineyards North Valley Chardonnay Willamette Valley 2013

03 Tuesday Nov 2015

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soter chardFor many years they tried to grow good Chardonnay in the Willamette Valley without much success until they figured out that the California-sourced clones were not a good match for their soils. But since importing the Dijon clone from France in the late 1970’s, the quality of Chardonnay from Willamette has slowly improved and today it seems everyone is jumping on the Chardonnay bandwagon. And why not since Chardonnay sells.

In general, Willamette Valley Chardonnay is crisp, lean, and fresh with modest oak and very little of the buttered-popcorn opulence that traditionally characterized Chardonnay from their neighbor to the South. This bottling from Soter is typical.

White peach and lemon provide a foundation for lovely hazelnut aromas; with aeration the crushed rock characteristic of Willamette Valley really shows. This nut/mineral coupling sets this wine apart.

There is more peach and apple on the taut palate. The medium body still manages to feel delicate until early acidity rushes in and forceful minerality takes over. The  long, mouthwatering, lemony finish is on the tart side but still acceptable.

This is not gorgeous, rich, or complex. With only 13% new French oak (30% used), and only 37% undergoing malolactic fermentation, the winemaker’s aim is clearly to let the fruit speak. It is a wonderful food wine that rocked a plate of pasta with red sauce.

Fresh, lively, and a little sassy but poised–like Tegan and Sara’s “The Con”

Score: 88

Price: $32

Alc: 13.2

Windrun Pinot Noir and Chardonnay Santa Barbara 2013

08 Monday Jun 2015

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windrun chardonnayOvid, the great poet of Latin literature wrote “A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man’s brow”.

Delicacy in wine is similarly fragile. It can be destroyed by excessive ripeness, too much oak, stray oxygen molecules, or chemical manipulation. In fact, in our age of big and bold, delicacy is a rare treat. These two wines from Windrun appear as delicate as a bee wing belying a firm foundation.

The Pinot Noir offers a sheen of floral aromas with unusual mint highlights  mingling with a blend of maraschino and darker cherries. Hints of tea, spice, and hazelnut  play in the background indicating a light Buddha’s touch with the oak. (It is aged in new and used French and American  oak  for 6 months) Not aromatically intense, but subtle and complex, this is a wine to explore. It you swill it you will miss what it has to offer. Dry and slender on the palate, leaving cranberry and rose water impressions, it has balanced acidity and very fine tannins that have surprising persistence. Absolutely fresh and mouth watering—a gossamer robe over sinewy structure.

Stylistically this falls between three stools: More complexity than the pure fruit expression of New Zealand, but without the earthiness and grip of Burgundian Pinot Noir, and certainly avoiding the brawn and bluster of most California samples, Windrun has found its own niche.  A really unique expression of California Pinot Noir. In my judgment that is worth a couple points.

The Chardonnay is very pretty and accessible. Light straw in color, pear, mango, and ginger aromas meld with a stealthy incursion of buttered popcorn, all providing contrast to the wet-stone minerality that leaps from the glass. Crisp and dry on the palate but with pleasing viscosity, the soft, ingratiating acidity announces the medium length finish with a bitter herb note lending interest. One of the new breed of California Chardonnays throwing off their heavily oaked past. Only 50% of the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, and it is aged in large, neutral barrels preserving freshness.

Both wines have the character of paradox—delicacy and solidity. And isn’t it paradox that makes wine interesting?

Pinot Noir:

Score: 90

Price: $20

Alc: 14.1%

Chardonnay:

Score:  88

Price: $15

Alc: 13.8%

No one exhibits the paradox of delicacy and solidity better than Joanna Newsome.

Review based on industry samples

Wine Review: Artesa Chardonnay Carneros 2011

19 Monday Jan 2015

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artesa chardArtesa is one of my favorite Napa area wineries. Their Carneros location is gorgeous—you can see San Pablo Bay on a clear day—and their reserve and limited release wines are always worth tasting.  The larger production Signature series is usually consistent and well done. It was an Artesa Pinot Noir that piqued my interest in wine. So I had my usual high expectations when opening this bottle. I was a little disappointed in this 2011 Chardonnay.

intriguing smoke, grilled pineapple and apple sauce aromas of medium intensity waft from the glass.  An enticing nose with enough complexity to hold your interest.  The full-bodied palate is creamy with a little butter, balanced with robust acidity leading to a medium length finish, lightly graced with hazelnuts. Unfortunately the finish turns sour and is disjoint, diminishing the experience. All’s well that ends well; it it doesn’t end well, well….

This one’s a little bittersweet like Ani DiFranco’s Allergic to Water

Score: 88

Price: $18

Alc: 13.8%

Half of the wine was aged in French Oak, 30% new.

Wine Review: Bergstrom Sigrid Chardonnay 2012

03 Monday Nov 2014

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bergstrom chardI’ve been lurking about the Willamette Valley searching for the perfect Pinot—a noble calling although thus far unsuccessful. But what I found instead was this stunning Chardonnay that while, perhaps, falling short of perfection, was head and shoulders above the pretenders to that exalted throne. Reminiscent of the likes of Montrachet, the best that Burgundy has to offer, it suggests Oregonians might rethink their almost total commitment to Pinot Noir.

Flamboyant, yet balanced and full of charm. Bursting with citrus and pear, seductive aromas of hazelnuts mingling with crème fraiche and hints of buttered toast make this a sensuous olfactory orgy. Concentrated and creamy but crisp and agile on the palate, it sees 40% new French oak applied with delicacy and restraint. The finish is long and satisfying with mineral notes coming to the forefront. If you want to splurge on a white wine, without paying Burgundian prices, this would be a good choice.

Although Bergstrom makes lovely Pinot Noir, this Chardonnay, a barrel selection from several vineyards, all from the Dijon clone, is their flagship wine.  They are a mid-sized operation producing about 10,000 cases per year.

Score: 94

Price: $85

Alc: 14.1%

Budget Wine Review: Guenoc Chardonnay 2013 California

25 Friday Jul 2014

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guenocGuenoc is Langtry Estates entry level wine which is now part of the Foley Family stable of wineries. It’s a widely available supermarket wine produced at their Lake County winery using less than 15% estate grapes with the rest coming from various vineyards in California.

This is a straightforward, modern-style, warm-climate Chardonnay, not too oaky, no butter, with tropical fruits and crisp acidity but exceedingly average in quality.

Good intensity on the nose, showing pineapple, baked apple, and lime but with faint medicinal notes if you look for them. Restrained oak notes.

The oak influence is a bit more apparent on the medium-bodied palate which shows some roasted pear, but the flavor disappears mid-palate, overwhelmed by the bite from the acid. A crisp and tangy mouthfeel but dull on the finish as it turns a bit sour. This will work well with salmon or butternut squash soup for dinner but won’t impress as a sipper.

A good bargain if you find the price discounted, which I did at BevMo.

Score: 85

Ave. Price:  $10

Alc: 13.5

Melville Estate Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills 2012

17 Monday Mar 2014

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melville chardA good wine is kinetic, moving about the mouth in undulating waves of  complementary flavors. This Chardonnay from the western side of Santa Rita Hills has that cool weather dynamism that defines the newer breed of California Chardonnay.

Slender and lean but brisk and full of vigor, the Melville has a wonderful evolution on the palate.  Nutmeg and hazelnut succeed fleeting apple flavors until they too give way to swelling tides of minerality, ending in a powerful, persistent finish as satisfying as you will find on a white wine. The nose shows floral notes, sea breeze, and lemon prevailing over the standard roast pear and red apple which appear as background notes.

There is no malolactic fermentation to round off the flavors and the use of neutral oak keeps the vanilla and butter in check. A little steely and uncompromising. Poised, self-possessed and focused without being overly friendly, yet reeking of quality like Lady Mary of Downton Abbey.

I love this wine.

Score: 93/100

Ave. Price: $23

Alc: 14.5