2021 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard, USA, California, Santa Cruz, Wine Review

This continues to be my favorite Chardonnay! It drinks great young and ages nicely. With just a kiss of vanilla showing, there is some oak but not enough to be an issue even for many of the most oak adverse drinkers. Light green/gold in color, clear and bright. The nose is great with lemon creme, a touch of vanilla, spice and slight char. Full bodied. Very light tannins. Great balance. On the palate, this is delicious. Great texture. Flavors of lemons, slight cooked apples, vanilla and spice. A bit of char on the long finish. This drinks great on its own and will work well with all but the biggest foods. It worked great with Red Pepper Hummus Roll-Ups. Drink over the next twenty years if well stored.

Grade:

A+

Score:

Vintage:

2021

Current Price:

$167.00USD

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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2021 Rhys Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains, USA, California, Wine Review

Vintage:

2021

Score:

Grade:

Current Price:

$46.00USD

Rhys may be my favorite Chardonnay producer (that I still choose to afford) and Santa Cruz may be my favorite region for Chardonnay. But, still, this is their basic offering and I had low expectations. They were far exceeded. What an excellent wine. I ended up drinking two bottles over three days and that is unusual. Light golden in color with slight silvery/green hues. Clear and bright. The nose is great. Very mineral driven but also some lemon creme, vanilla and a touch of grapefruits. Medium to full bodied. Lots of energy. Light tannins. Great acidity and balance. On the pal

2012 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard, USA, California, Santa Cruz, Wine Review

Vintage:

2012

Score:

Grade:

Current Price:

$120.00USD

Nice to revisit this with some age on it. Yellow-gold in color with slight green hues, clear and bright. The nose is the same; vanilla, lemon crème, and minerals. Medium to full bodied. Good acidity. On the palate, lemons, lemon curd and slight vanilla. Long finish. This tastes mature but very similar to how it tasted on release. More depth, less energy. Not sure where it goes from here but another five years and probably ten. Great on its own, this will work well with salmon or tuna steaks.

2021 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard, USA, California, Santa Cruz, Wine Review

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