At a recent blind tasting of Napa Chardonnay's, it turned out that there were two identical bottles submitted and served blind. Always an interesting experiment as such factors as storage and even the tasting order can affect the results. As it turned out, bottle #1 was the first served while bottle #2 was the last one served.
An interesting Chardonnay from Argentina. Grown at high altitude, and picked early, the label lists 75 calories in a 5 oz.
With most of my favorite Chablis producers now selling their wines for (well) north of $100 per bottle, Dampt has become one of our go to Chablis. Golden in color, clear and bright. The nose is slightly chalky with some minerality and slight lemon. Also some salinity. Full bodied. Crisp acidity. On the palate, lemons, chalk and minerality. Long finish. Delicious. This drinks well but better with food. Shellfish is ideal but so is Hummus and Roasted Veggies. Drink over the next seven to ten years.
This is a Chardonnay from Umbria.. While I have its big brother, this was my first time trying this bottling. Hay/gold in color, clear and bright. The nose is nice with gun powder, lemons, slight grapefruits and butterscotch. Full bodied. Creamy texture. On the palate, lemon cream and toast. Good finish. Certainly some oak here, but not as much as its big brother. This drinks easy and is a good value for people who like a slightly oaky Chardonnay. Drink over the next few years.
A middle of the road in style, Napa Chardonnay. 14.5% abv. Yellow/gold in color, clear and bright. The nose has lemons and slight vanilla. Full bodied. Good acidity. On the palate, almonds, spices, minerals, and with some air, lemon crème. A slight bitter almond note on the finish. This is drinking well on its own and would be a nice wine with seafood, pork or veggies. Salmon is a great choice. Drink over the next five to seven years.
This sparkling wine is 100% Chardonnay from northern Italy. Light golden in color with lots of tiny bubbles. Clear and bright. The nose is nice with notes of baked bread, slight lemon curd and spice. Medium bodied. Excellent acidity. On the palate, this is mineral driven with a touch of lemons. Long finish. This is nice on its own and will work great with fish. Roasted trout would be a nice combination. Drink over the next five to ten years.
Another winner in the Recanti Reserve lineup. Served with our 2023 Seder meal. Light golden in color, clear and bright. The nose has some grapefruit, slight vanilla and peach. Full bodied. On the palate, yellow grapefruits, slight spice and vanilla. This vintage is starting to show a bit of age but still drinking just about at peak. This is nice on its own and worked well with Roasted vegetables with an avocado cilantro sauce. Drink over the next few years.
One of my favorite Chardonnays (both the winery and this vineyard). Light golden in color with some green hues, clear and bright. The nose is smoky with minerality, slight vanilla and grapefruits. Medium to full bodied. Slightly oily texture. Good acidity. On the palate, minerality and slight grapefruit. Lemon candy on the long finish. 12.9% abv. This is still drinking youthfully. It should drink well for another ten to fifteen more years. Great on its own, this will work well with lighter foods but also seafood and even fried chicken.
This 2014 Blanc de Blanc is a sparkling wine with a brisk acidity and a hint of chalky minerality. Hand harvested and whole cluster pressed, there’s a lovely creaminess to this wine with very mild carbonation, allowing more of the fruit to come through. It offers lemon-lime notes, guava, red delicious apple and grannie smith green apple, light unsweetened honeysuckle, Asian pear, a hint of baked brioche. The balance of the flavors makes this easy to pair with a diversity of foods. 178 cases. ORIGIN: Alexander Valley, Sonoma. ALCOHOL: 12.5%
A WOW wine to be sure. Still very young. The color is fascinating. Almost a Day-Glo yellow/green in color. Iridescent. The nose has a lot of oak, toast and char but also some pineapple and a bit of citrus. With air, minerality comes out and the oak integrates just a bit. Full bodied. On the palate, this is big, ripe and sexy. Citrus, some butterscotch and plenty of baking spice and char. Long finish. This is fantastic now (especially if you are not oak averse), but give it another decade in the cellar and it will be flirting with a 100 score. Either way, it should have at least
