Chardonnay

The Alesia wines from Rhys are made with purchased fruit.  It is similar to the Rhys Chards but for my tastes, not quite at that level.  Light gold/green in color.  The nose is nice with lemons, vanilla cream and spice.  On the palate, this is medium bodied.  Nice acidic cut.  The lemon and vanilla carry thru.  Good clean finish.  This drinks well on its own but will work well with sea food or lighter dishes.  Drink over the next ten years.  

Light golden/green in color.  The nose is nice with lemons, pears, floral tones and a bit steely.  just a slight hint of burnt coconut.  On the palate, this is reasonably crisp.  Pear with slight spice/oak.  Nice mouthfeel.  Good finish.  This drank well on its own and worked with with a butternut squash soup.  It probably should be consumed in the next three to five years.  

This did not seem like a proper bottle.  It was quite advanced for its age.  Most likely a cork issue? Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has a slight oxidized note to it.  Also, butterscotch and vanilla.  No fruit on the nose.  On the palate, it is a bit cleaner with some lemon and some vanilla.  Clipped on the finish.  A shame as this should have been a bit fresher but it happens.  Drinkable depending on your aversion (or not) to oxidized wines.  I ten to not have as much an issue as most.  If I had to score it, maybe an 83?

This a sparkling wine from the southwest corner of France.  It is a blend of 70% Chardonnay, 20% Chenin Blanc and 10% Pinot Noir.  It is an excellent value in sparkling wine.  Silvery gold in color, clear and bright.  There is a fair amount of small to medium sized bubbles making up the mousse.  On opening, this is a very aromatic wine.  There is an initial wave of limes and lanolin followed by minerals and baked apples on the nose.  Good acidity.  The palate has a nice roundness with baked apples and slight cherry notes.  This has moderate depth with light tannins.  It finishes long.  Over

Ceritas makes a wonderful lineup of Chardonnay's and I encourage everyone to sign up for their mailing list.  This one is no exception.  Light golden in color.

Opened later in the night after a bunch of red wines, this really seemed fresh and lively.  It worked out great.  Light golden in color.  The nose has lemon chiffon with nice minerality.  Just a touch of vanilla.  Full bodied.  Crisp.  Delicious.  The lemon carries thru over a mineral bed.  Great on its own, this will work well with seafood, salads and certainly on its own.  It is very young now and worth drinking that way, but this should easily go another ten years and probably more as it matures.  

From an excellent producer who is still affordable in Chablis.  These are not what I think of as "traditional" wines, but they are quite good and certainly not "modern" if that would be the opposite of traditional.  Light golden in color.  The nose has some green apples more of a lemony quality.  There is a slight chalkiness to it, but more spice.  Good not great acidity.  On the palate, this is more about lemons with some underlying spice.  Nice finish.  Still young, this may yet improve a bit more.  Presuming no oxidation issues (and I have not run into any with this producer), this shoul

Treasure Hunter is a winery that searches for declassified juice (I am not sure if they also buy grapes) from wineries and restaurants that have unsold barrels at a large discount.  They maintain the integrity  of the winery by not divulging their sources.  In some years, this can be better than others.  It all depends on whether there is a grape glut or scarceness, though it should be said, that these wines are for the most part of top quality for their respective price points.  Which brings us to this wine.  This is a very nice, bigger, RRV Chardonnay.  Golden in color with a slight coppe

Dosage is 8 grams per liter.  Silvery light gold in color.  A nice amount of smaller bubbles.  The nose has seltzer and gun powder.  On the palate, this is lively. Plenty of a (red) apples with a tart sourness that is very nice.  A reasonably long finish.  This is an affordable Champagne that is very user friendly.  It will work well on its own and with just about any foods but especially salty foods.  This should be consumed within the first few years of release.  There was no disgorgement date on this bottle so purchase from stores with good turnover.  

Yowza.  This is certainly a step up from the 2000 P2 and the regular 2002 version of this wine.  The P2 signifies that is saw about another 8 years of bottle ageing (under cork) before its final dosage.  The dosage is also less sugar than the regular version.  Just a stunning and youthful wine.  Light golden in color.  The nose is great.  It has this quality not too unlike homemade pie dough.  Not yeasty but doughy.  Also some tart lemons and minerals.  On the palate, this has a lemon candy quality with minerals underneath.  Tart lemons on the finish.  This is persistent and lengthy and see