An excellent vintage for this wine, it is in a great place right now. The wine is a blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir. Light golden in color with a fine bead of tiny bubbles.
Another classic Chardonnay from this producer. Santa Cruz is south of San Francisco. Light golden in color, clear and bright. The nose is great with lemons, slight vanilla and spice. Crisp texture. Great acidity. This is just starting to open and has a long life left. Lemons and green apples with some underlying spice. Long finish. Drink over the next ten years.
This is 100% sparkling Chardonnay from New Zealand. Silvery/gold in color, clear and bright. A good amount of medium to small sized bubbles. The nose peach with toast. Medium bodied. On the palate, this is concentrated and tight. It took some time to open showing peach with some yeasty notes and underlying char. Good finish. This drinks well on its own and should be very foo friendly. A nice wine with a BLT or a Veggie Burger. Drink over the next five years.
This is 95% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Noir from Italy. Franciacorta is a great region for sparkling wines. Light golden in color with a nice mousse of smaller bubbles. The nose is big with cream soda and a bit of hazelnuts. Full bodied. On the palate, it seems to have just the slightest bit of residual sugar left. Some citrus and plenty of minerality. A bit shorter on the almond finish. This is nice on its own and very food friendly. It went great with assorted hard and soft cheeses. Drink over the next ten years.
From one of the classic Napa wineries (and still producing great wines). This bottle was consumed on the Celebrity Millennium Cruise Ship off the coast of Alaska (off their list). Green/gold in color, clear and bright. The nose is nice with lemon cream and a slight pine note. Full bodied. On the palate, this is crisp. It shows just minimal touches of oak. Nice lemon/lime notes with good acidity. A bit clipped perhaps on the finish, but otherwise very impressive. Lovely on its own, this will work well with sea food or even Thai. Drink over the next eight to twelve years.
MacRostie has long preferred high elevation vineyards where the vines are totally exposed. In this case, Nightwing vineyard sits at 1,200 feet, open to long sunny days and cool ocean breezes. This Chardonnay is in the vein of classic California Chardonnays - a wine that straddles all the elements of excellent fruit, malo-lactic, oak aging, stainless steel fermentation, and proper acidity. All these things come together seamlessly, which allows this to be an ideal expression of how good Chardonnay can be.
The label lists this as 12% abv. Silvery/green/gold in color, clear and bright. The nose is clean with some lemony notes. Light bodied. On the palate, the label calls this semi-dry but there isn't really a lot of sweetness going on. It is refreshing with some lemon-lime qualities. Easy to drink. This is food friendly and would work well with fried foods or popcorn. A fun wine for sitting outside at a winery listening to live music. Drink now.
This is a really great value for a nice, easy to drink Chardonnay. Made with Organic grapes and coming in at 12.5% ABV. Screw capped. Pale gold in color with slight green hues, clear and bright. The nose is tight at first but opens with some air. Slightly viscous and slightly oily texture. On the palate, this is more open with grapefruit notes. Long finish with strong grapefruit notes. Good acidity. This drinks very well on its own and is also food friendly with lighter foods. It worked with with stuffed grape leaves. Drink over the next few years.
Wow. What a great young Chardonnay! My kind of Cal Chard. Light golden in color, clear and bright. The nose is crisp with chalk, slight lemon, floral notes and a hint of "ocean air". Medium to full bodied. On the palate, this is crisp and refreshing but also deep and complex. Lemons and minerality. Lovely texture. Long finish. This drinks well on its own and will be very food friendly. It would be great with Chinese food. Drink over the next ten to fifteen years. Some of the best Chardonnay's anywhere come from Santa Cruz!
This is really a nice wine. This retails for $18 and that is a great value. Light golden in color with a swirl of green hues, clear and bright. The nose is nice with red apples, slight herbal note and nice minerality. Light to medium bodied but with a slight viscosity in the glass. On the palate, this is easy and refreshing. Flavors of apples with underlying minerality. Tasty. Very nice on its own, this will make great summer sipping on the deck with light foods. Drink over the next few years.
