Chardonnay

According to the label, this is a white blend of Chardonnay, Feteasca Regala, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat Ottonel but also Cadarcă (known as Kadarka in Hungary) which is a red varietal.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is tight but with air opens up a bit.  Some cantaloupe and a bit of minerality.  Slightly oily texture.  Bold flavors on the palate.  This is dry with minerals, limes, melon and slight cherries.  A long finish.  This is a really serious wine that seems like it should hold up for five to seven years.  There is a nice complexity to it now on its own but should also

This is an inexpensive Chardonnay.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has some gun flint with a touch of peach.  I suspect it had more fruit when it was younger.  On the palate, a bit chalky with slight peach as well.  A bit bitter on the finish.  This seems past prime and should be consumed soon.  It will work better with food, seafood would be a nice choice.  

This took some time to open and showed a better on day 2.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with smoke, minerals butterscotch, and a touch of grapefruits.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, the minerality comes thru along with some citrus.  Very clean finish.  This drinks nicely on its own but much better with some food to bring out the subtleties.  Salmon or heavier seafood dishes would work well.  Drink over the next three to five years.  There is an upside to cellaring.  

A very nice value in California Chardonnay.  This does see just a touch of oak and partially went thru Malolactic fermentation giving the wine a bit more roundness and accessibility.  Light golden in color.  The nose has yellow grapefruits, and a touch of green apples.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, the yellow grapefruit comes thru along with a bit of tropical fruit.  Nice acidity.  Drinks easy.  This drinks well on its own and would be a nice summer sipper on the deck.  It will work well with salmon or lighter salads.  Drink over the next few years.  

I am a big fan of the RM Chardonnays.  This is the "generic" non-single vineyard offering.  It might be a hair less than those others but it is also less expensive and an outstanding wine on its own.  Light gold with some green swirls, shimmering bright.  The nose is classic with lemons, vanilla, slight chalk and a hint of mint.  Full bodied but with cut.  Lots of energy.  On the palate, this is delicious right from the go.  Lemons, vanilla, slight spice with a long finish.  Great texture.  Young, of course, but this should easily do another ten years as it matures.  Might even get better. 

Although young, this wine is a beauty.  Kistler used to have a lot of oak on its Chardonnays.  Some loved it, some didn't, but this wine seems to have backed off a bit on the oak and upped the acidity.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has some pineapple, and lemons.  With air, a lemon candy note comes thru.  There is a fair amount of oak showing too coming thru as caramel and vanilla but it is already integrating.  Full bodied with a lovely viscous, oily texture.  On the palate, this is crisp with nice minerality.  The lemon/lemon candy comes thru.  Long finish.  This drinks ni

Another example of why Rhys is one of my favorite Chardonnay's from anywhere.  Light golden in color with slight green hues.  Clear and bright.  The nose is gorgeous with lemon curd, minerality, and vanilla.  Full bodied.  Solid acidity.  On the palate those flavors carry thru.  Lemon curd and vanilla with great minerality.  Just delicious.  The bottle is drained quickly.  Long finish.  These drink so beautifully young, they do shut down a bit after a few years and then re-open at around age 7 to 10 for another decade.  Great on their own, these work great with crisp or lighter foods.