2017 Fairway & Vines Chardonnay Lodi, USA, California, Wine Review

This is a label created by golfer Ben Curtis and Rich Parducci. The wines are meant to be affordable (full retail is about $20). This Chardonnay was made in steel and uses no oak. Screw capped. Golden in color, with a bit of a copper hue. The nose is tight but with some air, it opens to show lemon balm, lemon grass, and just a hint of LemonHeads candy. On the palate, the texture is slightly oily. There is an interesting chalkiness to it and the lemon balm comes thru. It is steely and easy drinking. This drinks well on its own. Very refreshing. It has enough acidity to work well with lighter foods or sea food. It probably is best drunk over the next few years. A very nice value.

Grade:

B+

Score:

Vintage:

2017

Current Price:

$15.00USD

Top Ten California Chardonnays - 2016

I tend to taste and drink a lot of wine over the course of a year. I am in a few tasting groups, sometimes the wines are consumed at various local wine store tastings and a number drunk with friends and family.

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Napa Valley Chardonnay: Foods to Pair With, and Meals that Call for, Napa Chardonnay

Chardonnay—a chameleon of a grape. There are an especially large number of choices to be made in terms of winemaking when it comes to Chardonnay. It can be still or sparkling. It can be aged in oak or un-oaked, filtered or unfiltered, subject to malolactic fermentation or not. Even the type of oak used, or the decision to keep the wine in contact with dead yeast cells during the winemaking process affects the style of the final product. These factors (not to mention the concept of terroir) result in endless Chardonnay styles that can range from Burgundy’s crisp, austere, mineral-driven wines to Australia’s tropical fruit-packed, viscous style.

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Best Napa Chardonnay (For the Money)

IntoWine.com asked a panel of wine experts for their recommendation for the best Napa Chardonnay (for the money): California Chardonnay has entered a new golden era, and there are terrific, cooler climate examples available from all over the State. These great new Chards tend to be balanced, with minerality and strong acidity, as well as less obtrusive new oak than was the trademark of California Chardonnay even five years ago. Napa does not have a particularly cool climate, so the wines from this region tend to have more ripe, tropical fruit characteristics, and more richness, as well as more of a creamy mouth feel, thanks in large part to the new oak typically used for fermentation and aging. Nonetheless, for those who like the rich, tropical fruit style of Chardonnay, there are some great examples from Napa that are relative values. My top pick for the money is the Arnot-Roberts Watson Ranch Napa Valley Chardonnay, with the current release going for a relatively reasonable average of $35. Here I get more lemon and lemon cream than super-ripe tropical fruit, but with solid weight and creamy texture. Also quite good but considerably pricier, at about $50, is the Hestan Vineyards Chardonnay, made by sought after Napa winemaking consultant Mark Herold. - Richard Jennings, IntoWine.com Featured Contributor and the Founder RJonWine.com

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2018 Harken Chardonnay Barrel Fermented, USA, California, Wine Review

Vintage:

2018

Score:

Grade:

B+

Current Price:

$15.00USD

At a recent tasting of multiple Chardonnays, this was the crowd favorite and most were priced well above this one. It retails for around $15, but can be found for as low as $10. The back label says it is a throwback to the oaked and buttery Chardonnays of the past. Perhaps, but most people seemed to find just a hint of those qualities and that was a good thing. It was different than what the crowd described as over oaked and too buttery. While the crowd may have liked it more than I, it is a very nice wine and a great value and quite enjoyable. The color is light gold, hay and slight

2012 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard, USA, California, Sonoma Coast, Wine Review

Vintage:

2012

Score:

Grade:

A+

Current Price:

$375.00USD

This wine took a long time to open up and was still improving four hours later when retasted at the end of the night. The first impression score was maybe a 90 and eventually it got up to 99. Really impressive but if opening, give it air or time. Medium deep golden in color. The nose has oak, vanilla and lemon. With air a metallic not comes and goes. Then a buttery quality which stays although moves more into the background. Eventually, some orange citrus and floral notes with a great underlying minerality. The palate also goes thru a wild ride starting off tight and oak driven, the

2017 Fairway & Vines Chardonnay Lodi, USA, California, Wine Review

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