Chardonnay

Served from Magnum.  This was stunning.  Light gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has smoke, vanilla, lemons and marzipan.  A bit tight but opens with air.  On the palate, vanilla and lemons with a slight melon note and a charred base.  A beautiful backbone of acidity that makes this very food friendly.  Long finish.  This wine should continue to mature and develop for a few more years and should easily be good for fifteen years, depending on how you like your Chardonnay.  It is also fantastic right now.  Very food friendly with all but the meatiest of dishes.  

I attended a wedding recently at Holman Ranch and this was served.  Of the three wines I tried, this was the best one.  Pale gold in color.  The nose has some peach and melon.  Nice.  On the palate, this is nice.  Easy drinking with a bit of melon.  Clean.  No bite. This should be consumed in the next year or so.  It will work with lighter foods or on its own. 

This is very nice take on a California Chard.  It is more mineral driven than I expected and doesn't show much sign of malo (butter).  There is a fair amount of oak showing, but that will likely subside as it matures.  Golden in color.  The nose has a nice peach quality along with a bit of vanilla and slight toasty oak.  On the palate, this is full bodied but enough acidity to give it a bit of crispness.  Nice mouthfeel.  The peach flavors come thru.  Good finish.  This is drinking well now, but should improve for a few years and be good for seven to ten years at least.  It drinks well on i

This is a pretty version of California Chardonnay.  Gold/silver/green in color.  The nose has lemon/lime with a nice minerality.  On the palate, this has lemons, wintergreen, along with slight tannins.  There is some oak here but not burdensome.  It shows up more on the finish along with some lemons.  This has a bit of complexity and is drinking very well.  It drinks well on its own and will work with lighter and medium weight foods.  It should probably be consumed in the next few years.  Full retail is $22 but this can often be found for less.

Gold/green in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice.  Big.  Fresh oak, lemons and slight vanilla.  Nice acidity.  On the palate, flavors of lemon hard candy.  Slightly oily texture.  The finish has oak and lemon candies.  Long.  This has a fair amount of oak, but is also clean and energetic.  It should be good for seven to ten more years and may develop further.  It should go well with a wide range of foods from salads to pasta in a cream sauce.  

At a recent tasting of multiple Chardonnays, this was the crowd favorite and most were priced well above this one.  It retails for around $15, but can be found for as low as $10.  The back label says it is a throwback to the oaked and buttery Chardonnays of the past.  Perhaps, but most people seemed to find just a hint of those qualities and that was a good thing.  It was different than what the crowd described as over oaked and too buttery.  While the crowd may have liked it more than I, it is a very nice wine and a great value and quite enjoyable.  The color is light gold, hay and slight

Consumed with friends at their home in Napa.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is classic Rhys.  Vanilla, lemon cream and this time a slight herbal note (in a good way).  Nice acidity.  Complex and deep.  This wine has entered into a very early maturity and is showing some development.  It is also delicious.  Long finish.  This should continue to develop for the  next five years and be good for at least ten more after that.  Further upside is likely.  It goes well with seafood, fowl and grain based dishes.  

Very nice showing for this wine.  Deep salmon pink with some orange swirls in color.  The nose has strawberries, some active yeast aromas, and a bot of cherries.  A nice mousse with small bubbles.  On the palate, this has nice cherries with some orange and an interesting milk chocolate note.  This has a nice complexity.  Good acidity.  Drinking well now; it has a nice verve and freshness that won't last.  It probably should be consumed in the next coup,e of years.  This went well with crackers and olives but would really go with just about anything.

This is a sparkling wine from California.  Oddly enough, I tasted it while stopping for lunch in Napa at the Oakville Grocer.  A couple seated next to me had ordered a bottle for lunch but only finished two thirds of it, and offered us the rest.  Who am I to refuse such a generous invitation.  The wine itself was very good and indeed, better than I had expected.  It is a blend of 64% Pinot Noir and 36% Chardonnay grown.  It is a pale pink/orange color, clear and bright with a good amount of smaller bubbles.  The nose is nice with strawberries, raspberries and a touch of yeast.  On the palat

Consistently one of the best Chardonnay's coming from Napa.  It is a hypothetical cross in style between a fatter Burgundy and a racier California Chardonnay.  It is a bit tropical and definitely shows some oak, but used deftly.  Always a hit when a bottle is opened.  Pale golden in color.  The nose has vanilla, lemons and minerals.  Complex.  On the palate, this is round but with enough acidity to make it work.  Vanilla and lemon cream.  Long finish.  This keeps unwinding in the glass.   Not a baby but not yet at peak depending how you like your Chards.  This will work great on its own or