Chardonnay

This wine is in a beautiful place right now.  Medium gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has grapefruit, slight orange peel, with a slight touch or caramel.  Full bodied.  Complex.  On the palate, quince with slight grapefruit.  Good acidity.  Long finish. This is great on its own and would be excellent with shellfish.  Though it will last long, drink in the next few years to catch at peak.  

This is apparently a joint venture between Nigl and the Ta Os Skybar in Schorndorf, Germany.  It is a style of Chardonnay that I am not a fan of.  You may like it more.  Yellow gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has lemon pith and a woody quality.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this seems bitter with more lemon rind.  Wine is subjective, you may enjoy this more than I.  

Though Banshee is probably better known for their still wines, they also produce a non vintage sparkler. Comprised of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier this delightful sparkling wine offers light notes of lemon lime, citrus zest, Asian pear, white peach, red delicious apple, and honeysuckle. It has a solid acidity and mild carbonation to make this fun and interesting. It was aged on the less for 24 months, and consistent to Banshee’s original mission statement, this wine definitely over delivers for the price.

Landmark has consistently produced this affordable, classic California Chardonnay, and 2020 repeats history. A terrific balance of all the essentials for Chardonnay, good fruit sourced from well-established vineyards, malolactic fermentation, oak aging, natural yeast, all judiciously applied. This offers lemon, lime, white peach, Asian pear, guava, light mango, resin, a wisp of butterscotch while still providing a solid acidity. There is also a nice creaminess - a viscosity that makes this ideal with a variety of foods.

This wine has always been one of the outstanding performers in the Cuvaison portfolio and year after year is a wine that never ceases to impress. It is also one of those Chardonnays that makes you rethink Chardonnay because it is so beautifully balanced, so definitely handled, that it surpasses what most of us know about Chardonnay. Yes you’ll find light lemon-lime, green apple, kiwi, guava notes, but also viscosity and minerality. It also possesses a slight resin and stone fruit quality and maturity of fruit. That these vines are just 20 years old suggests there are great vintages ahead.

For 35 years Soliloquy has been the flagship white wine from Flora Springs in Napa. The wine bursts with grapefruit, lemon, lime kefir, lychee, and back notes of resin, white peach, Asian pear and mango. The acidity holds the wine and fruit in check while allowing it to be a companion with a diversity of food. It’s comprised of 73% Sauvignon Blanc, 12% Chardonnay and 15% Malvasia and a brief seven months of aging in French oak rounds it out. This is a consistently solid wine and year after year is worth seeking out. 605 cases. ORIGIN: Napa Valley. ALCOHOL: 14.2%

What a treat to try this at age 10.  Deeper gold but with a bit of yellow hues, clear and bright.  The nose has lemons, minerals, slight hazelnut and some oak/spice.  Full bodied.  Nice velvety texture.  On the palate, lemons and minerals.  This is slightly past its prime but drinking well.  Plenty of depth and interest.  This drinks well on its own but probably better with food at this point.  It would pair well with lobster.  Drink over the next few years.  

A portion of the Chardonnay is picked early for the sparkling wines while the rest are allowed to hang and develop.  This wine is fermented in barrels and then goes thru full malolactic fermentation.  It is allowed to mature in 2500 liter wood barrels.  Green/gold in color, clear and bright.  There is some oak showing on the nose as well as a hint of sulfur, both of which quickly blow off.  The resultant wine shows green apples, salinity, spice and slight lemon.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this seems richer than the nose.  Lemon cream, and spice with the salinity coming t

Another impressive sparkling wine from this estate.  100% Chardonnay.  Disgorged in January, 2022.  12.5% abv.  Zero Dosage.  Pale, yellow in color with a nice stream of smaller bubbles.  The nose is big and excellent.  Minerality, chalk, lemons and slight salinity with lots of energy.  Crisp acidity.  On the palate, the chalk, minerals and salinity come thru but the lemon citrus is a bit more pronounced.  Long finish.  This is delicious.  It drinks nice on its own but will be even better with food.  This would work well with sushi but also a frittata.  Drink over the next seven to ten year

This is a very nice Chardonnay made from estate grown and purchased fruit.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has some green apple often found in Chablis, but mostly grapefruit with some lemon.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this is moderately crisp with a bit of chalky minerality.  Good finish.  It drinks well on its own and worked well with a caprese salad.  Drink over the next few years.