Chardonnay

Santa Cruz has become my favorite spot for Chardonnays from California.  And, Jamie Kutch and Trout Gulch Vineyard are a perfect match.  Medium golden in color, clear and bright.   The nose is great with slight lemon, lemon cream, char, spice and a hint of grapefuit.  Full bodied.  Light to medium tannins.  Great energy.  On the palate, this is delicious.  The lemon and lemon cream come thru with a touch of oak and minerality.  Long finish.  This is still young and will develop but is delicious now.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  It will be perfect with Grilled Salmon.  

Gorgeous wine.  Pale golden in color with some green flecks, clear and bright.  The nose is deep with lemon cream, vanilla, and baking spice.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Complex and deep if still young.  Flavors of lemons, lemon cream, vanilla, spice and char.  Long finish.  This is drinking well on its own and would also be a lovely match with with grilled prawns or other sea food.  drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  

Very nice showing for this wine.  Light to medium gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is clean with green apples and slight lemon peel.  Also, a bit of spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Wispy tannins.  Nice acidity.  On the palate, some depth.  Flavors of apples and lemon.  Good finish.  This is drinking well and should for another four to seven years.  Nice on its own, this will work with many foods.  A good choice would be Pad Thai.  Hard to beat this for the money.  

From a 500ml bottle (which is such a great size, especially for a white).  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with vanilla, lemon cream, and slight spice.  Full bodied.  Great balance.  On the palate, this has plenty of depth and complexity although it is young.  The vanilla and lemon cream come thru.  Long finish.  This may still improve as it develops.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  Great on its own, this will work well with bigger foods.  Baked Salmon would be a nice choice.

From a 500ml bottle (which is a great size for a white wine) as part of their futures program.  Golden in color, a bit deeper in tone (oak?).  The nose  is classic Rhys, lemon curd, vanilla, slight citrus and spice.  Full bodied.  Crisp acidity.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Lemon Cream, vanilla, and spice.  Dry.  Long finish.  This is wonderful on its own and went quite well with Garlic Hummus and assorted veggies.  Drink over the next ten years (in this format).  

This is a 100% Chardonnay, sparkling wine from Burgundy.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  A bit of a mousse with small-ish bubbles.  The nose is nice with almonds, red apples and a slight yeasty/bread note.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this has nice apples with almonds on the persistent finish.  This is a nice moderately priced sparkling wine that is very food friendly.  This would go nicely with a bowl of French Onion Soup with melted Gruyere Cheese.  

Always one of the best Chardonnay's.  Light goldeen in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with green apples, spice, slight vanilla, and a hint of salinity.  Full bodied.  Voluptuous texture but crisp acidity.  On the palate, this is delicious.  The first sip reminds one of why they love Chardonnay.  Flavors of apples, spice, slight vanilla, and a rocks/mineral quality that keeps the wine from going over the top.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  This is great on its own and would be great with many foods.  A Seafood Pasta in a creamy garlic sauce would work well.