Chardonnay

This ubiquitous Champagne seems to be everywhere and sometimes, that means it can be easy to look past it (for wine geeks anyway).  It is quite good.  This is actually a special bottling to celebrate their 150th anniversary of their founding in 1869.  It is a blend of equal parts Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (30% to 40%) and the rest Chardonnay.  Golden in color with a bit of copper.  The nose is nice with toast, apple and slight ginger.  On the palate, this has nice full carbonation.  Good acidity.  Slight tannins.  Pears and apples.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now and should cont

This is a 50/50 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  It is 50% from 2013, and 50% from 2014 and 2015.  It was disgorged on 12/2017.  Silvery gold in color.  The nose is interesting with toast, pear, slight dried floral notes but also this interesting chocolate quality.  It took some time to open on the palate and continued to improve all evening.  Notes of pears with good acidity.  A slightly oily texture.  A bit clipped initially on the finish, that worked itself out with air.  This needs some time to develop.  It certainly should improve with a couple of years of good cellaring.  Then, it

Great label with lots of info.  The base wine for this NV wine is 2013.  it is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay.  This bottle was disgorged on 04/2018.  It is also a really good wine.  Medium gold in color.  The nose has apples, honey, and slight ginger and minerals.  On the palate, this has a nice backbone of acidity.  Tart apple fruit.  Lots of depth and complexity.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now and should for at least the next five to seven years.  It will work with just about any food.  

This is an interesting blend.  It is 67% Flora, 19% Chardonnay, and 14% Pinot Noir.  Flora is a crossing of Semillon and Gewürztraminer that was created in 1938 by Harold P. Olmo at the California Agricultural Experiment Station.  Light golden in color.  The nose has seltzer, slight marzipan and peach.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet.  Apples and apricots.  Turns sweeter on the finish.  This is enjoyable on it own but would work with a not too sweet peach/apricot dessert.  Drink over the next couple of years.  

This is a canned bottle of sparkling wine.  It seems to be some sort of Champagne blend that sells for $7 a 375ml can.  It's easy to make fun of this wine, but I found it fine.  It would probably be a bigger hit with millennial's and Gen-Z'ers than a bunch of crabby old men.  Light golden in color.   Not much of a nose to it.  Slight minerality.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet, slightly tart.  Citrus.  Some minerality.  Easy to drink.  Quick finish.  There is a place for canned sparkling wines as they are easier to transport (and safer) and open.  

Served to a group blind.  I thought it was a bit oxidized (just slightly) which is worrisome.  The group guess was California although I leaned to a more modern, bigger Chablis.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has some lemons with oak/spice but a streak of apple cider.  Not fresh apples thought perhaps that was there too.  On the palate, apples with some cider notes.  Slightly oily texture (which is why I thought Burgundy).  Some viscosity.  Slightly flabby.  It was likely the oak and the lack of acid that led the group into thinking it was from California.  OK finish. 

This wine (or at least this bottle) seems to be a bit better than a prior bottle which is saying a lot.  It mostly the difficult 2011 vintage but includes almost two hundred different wines going back to the 1995 vintage.   Forty-two percent of the cuvée is made up of Reserve wines.  The final blend is 47 % Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay and 17% Pinot Meunier.

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