This was very tight at first. Probably should have decanted for an hour. After a bit, it opened and was excellent. Yellow/gold in color. The nose is vanilla/lemon cream. Although "Burgundian" certainly could be used, it is a pretty consistent nose from this vineyard. On the palate, this has a creamy texture. Nice lemon cream with a touch of vanilla and an underlying minerality.
Light golden in color. The nose is very nice. Lemons, slightly candied, a bit of vanilla, and slight spice. On the palate, this has a creamy texture. Good not great acidity. Slightly oily texture. The lemon candy come thru nicely. A bit of oak too on the palate, but mostly integrated at this point. Good finish. Worked well with lighter foods. Seems to still be maturing but getting close to peak. No hurry has a decade or more to go.
Hay gold in color. The nose is filled with green apples and some chalk. A bit of underlying minerality. On the palate, sour green apples which get stronger with air. Good acidity, but not great (especially for Chablis). Long finish. Lots of fruit here. This will go with a wide variety of light and medium weight foods. Not quite what I think of for Chablis, but very much a nice Chardonnay (if that makes sense). Available at Nakedwines.com.
Golden in color. The nose is classic Rhys and gorgeous. Lemon cream and vanilla with an underlying rocky minerality. On the palate, this is almost seamless in a creamy texture. Lemon and vanilla notes. Bright fruit. It is not as big as some vintages but this is not reticent either. Delicious. Still youthful. It opens in the glass and improves in the bottle. So good right now it might not be worth risking holding, but it should still get better. One of the best California Chardonnays I have had.
Light golden in color. The nose has some lemons, a bit of hay but a touch of oxidation as well. Not too much though. On the palate, the lemons carry thru with nice acidity. Slightly candied on the finish. This kept improving all night with air and the bit of oxidation seemed less obvious as other elements were more present. Nice finish. This worked quite well with a funghi pizza. It may improve a bit with more storage, but it seems like it should be drunk sooner than later at this point. Of course, one always worries with oxidation and white Burgundies.
Light golden in color. The nose is clean with slight lemon notes. There is some lumber on the nose too. On the palate, this has little fruit but some. There is a bitterness. Decent acidity. At around $8, it drinks ok with or without food. No obvious faults but nothing amazing either.
emBrazen is a new line of wines honoring bold women who were trailblazers in their fields. This one honors Celia Crus, salsa singer originally from Cuba. Look her up. Yellow gold in color. The nose has slight grapefruit. On the palate, this is easy. Not a lot of acidity here. Slight grapefruit. This retails for $16 which is a fair price. The label is sure to start a few discussion.
From the VQA next to Niagara. This is very good. Light silvery/gold in color. The nose has lemons, melons and slightly woody note which is presumably from the stems (whole clusters were added). The winemaker described the woodiness as nutty, but that was probably because he was trying to impress that this wine saw no oak. In any event, the nose is very nice. On the palate, the melons (mostly Honey Dew, but also some cantaloupe-ish notes) come to the foreground. Also some lemons and minerals. Good acidity. This is clean and full bodied but has an energetic edge to it. Some of that
Green/gold in color. The nose is dusty with vanilla and slight lumber and slight grapefruit. A nice oily texture. On the palate there is lemon and grapefruit notes. It could use a bit more acidity to make it more food friendly. A nice slight red apple note on the reasonably long finish. There is a bit of a sweet note at the very end that is a bit sticky. Probably should be drink in the next few years. All said, though, this is really an excellent value for a $13 Chardonnay. It is interesting and easy to drink at the same time. You could certainly pay a lot more for a Chardonnay th
Verget is a very good producer in Burgundy. They make some of the better values. This is a lower level wine labeled under the Vin de France designation. Deep golden in color. The nose is more about minerals. Also some lemon. On the palate, this has a sweet tart quality to it. Light tannins. Light tannins. Refreshing. Verget is known for being a bit heavy handed with his use of oak. None of that was an issue here. This sells for around $10 a bottle is a really good value. Great for a party or large crowd. Food friendly. Not a complex or amazing wine, but very solid and enjoyab
