This is a blend of four grapes in the French portion of the Alps; Jacquere, Chasselas, Chardonnay, and Altesses. Light green gold in color. The nose is all about the minerals. Not much fruit. Oily texture. Good acidity. Lean minerality on the palate. This win begs for food but nothing too heavy. It retails for $14. A nice lunch wine but more pleasing for those with European wine tastes.
100% Chardonnay. Light copper/gold in color. The nose is interesting with lanolin, yeast and very slight ginger. It dies have a nice acidity. On the palate, a light citrusy note along with some ginger. Slightly sweet. Good finish. This retails for $25 and competes with Champagnes in that price point. Food friendly with a wide variety of foods.
Light golden in color. The nose has a fair amount of oak on it. A bit fleshy with vanilla and slight lemons. The oak became more pronounced with air. On the palate, the oak continues and at times it is searing and bitter. There is also vanilla and lemons. It does have a very nice texture. I drank in a crowd and many liked this and even enjoyed the oak profile which is fine. This may be a divisive wine based on that but seems to be otherwise a consistent wine. It was being closed out for $8 which is hard to beat!
This is the first bottling by Kutch from this AVA. Perhaps not quite the focus as the Santa Cruz mountain version but still quite nice. That may be to being a different vintage or AVA. This is golden in color. The nose has pears, slight vanilla, some lemon and a slightly sweaty note to it. On the palate, this is of course young. The pears and slight lemons come thru. Some acidity but not a lot. It will be good to revisit this and see if it comes more together. That said, it is delicious now with depth to it. Worked very well at the dinner table.
This is a project from former baseball manager Tommy Lasorda. I was a bit skeptical about it but this is good. It retails for around $20 which makes this a great bargain in the world of California Chardonnay as well. Pop and pour, it drank well although did improve for the first 30 minutes or so before plateauing until the bottle was emptied. Light gold/green in color. The nose is nice with grapefruit and slight vanilla. Neutral oak barrels were used but there are some very pleasant oak remnants if light. With air some green apples pop out as well. On the palate, this has nice acid
This is a big Chardonnay that is not for everyone. For those who like buttery, oaked Chardonnay, they will love this. Light golden in color. The nose has lemon curd, fresh cut lumber, butter and spice. On the palate, there are some searing oak tannins to deal with. Also some nice lemon fruit. Good acidity. This is probably not a great food match, but lots of people would love this on its own. For my tastes, the oak is a bit too pronounced. That said, a small glass was enjoyable.
This is an inexpensive (around $6) Chardonnay. Light golden in color. The nose has some lemons and oak. On the palate, this is simple but drinkable. A bit of citrus. Not much depth. Works as an alcohol delivery system. The key here is that for $6, this is drinkable.
It can be hard to find a time to open these kinds of "orange" wines. I love them but they are not for everyone. This is a white blend of grapes that is fermented, on the skins in amphorae and then finished in barrels. It has Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Riesling. These kind of wines are best served at cellar temperature. Golden brown in color. The nose is oxidized but also has some apple cider, slight citrus and even a floral note. If oxidized wines bother you, stay away. I found the nose vibrant. On the palate, this is also vibrant and full of energy. Apple cider
