Chardonnay

From one of the classic Napa wineries (and still producing great wines).  This bottle was consumed on the Celebrity Millennium Cruise Ship off the coast of Alaska (off their list).  Green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with lemon cream and a slight pine note.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is crisp.  It shows just minimal touches of oak.  Nice lemon/lime notes with good acidity.  A bit clipped perhaps on the finish, but otherwise very impressive.  Lovely on its own, this will work well with sea food or even Thai.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years.  

MacRostie has long preferred high elevation vineyards where the vines are totally exposed. In this case, Nightwing vineyard sits at 1,200 feet, open to long sunny days and cool ocean breezes. This Chardonnay is in the vein of classic California Chardonnays - a wine that straddles all the elements of excellent fruit, malo-lactic, oak aging, stainless steel fermentation, and proper acidity. All these things come together seamlessly, which allows this to be an ideal expression of how good Chardonnay can be.

The label lists this as 12% abv.  Silvery/green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is clean with some lemony notes.  Light bodied.  On the palate, the label calls this  semi-dry but there isn't really a lot of sweetness going on.  It is refreshing with some lemon-lime qualities.  Easy to drink.  This is food friendly and would work well with fried foods or popcorn.  A fun wine for sitting outside at a winery listening to live music.  Drink now.  

This is a really great value for a nice, easy to drink Chardonnay.  Made with Organic grapes and coming in at 12.5% ABV.  Screw capped.  Pale gold in color with slight green hues, clear and bright.  The nose is tight at first but opens with some air. Slightly viscous and slightly oily texture.  On the palate, this is more open with grapefruit notes.  Long finish with strong grapefruit notes.  Good acidity.  This drinks very well on its own and is also food friendly with lighter foods.  It worked with with stuffed grape leaves.  Drink over the next few years.  

Wow.  What a great young Chardonnay!  My kind of Cal Chard.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is crisp with chalk, slight lemon, floral notes and a hint of "ocean air".  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this is crisp and refreshing but also deep and complex.  Lemons and minerality.  Lovely texture.  Long finish.  This drinks well on its own and will be very food friendly.  It would be great with Chinese food.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  Some of the best Chardonnay's anywhere come from Santa Cruz!

This is really a nice wine.  This retails for $18 and that is a great value.  Light golden in color with a swirl of green hues, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with red apples, slight herbal note and nice minerality.  Light to medium bodied but with a slight viscosity in the glass.  On the palate, this is easy and refreshing.  Flavors of apples with underlying minerality.  Tasty.  Very nice on its own, this will make great summer sipping on the deck with light foods.  Drink over the next few years.  

Drank this bottle among friends at the end of an evening and it was perfect in that spot.  Refreshing and energetic.  Light golden in color with green hues, clear and bright.  The nose has green apples, slight quince, minerality and a tweak of lemons.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is crisp and refreshing on a beautiful summer evening.  Flavors of citrus and green apples with slight minerals.  Long finish.  Great on its own, this is food friendly and would work well with vegetarian or seafood dishes.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  

Great showing for this bottle.  This is a big, round white Burgundy that at age 21, is just about at peak.  Deep golden in color with some orange hues, clear and bright.  The color likely influenced by both the time spent in oak and the age of the wine, but certainly proper.  The nose is nice with red apples, with air, some lemon cream, just a very slight brown sugar note, and great minerality.  Almost viscous, but crisp at the same time gives this a nice texture.

Wow.  This wine rocks.  Maybe the best Chardonnay I have had from this winery and I was already a big fan!  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with vanilla, spice and lemon cream.  With air, maybe a bit of peach.  Full bodied.  Good acidity.  Almost viscous in texture.  On the palate, this is so smooth and seamless.  Peaches, lemon cream, vanilla and spice.  Delicious.  Long finish.  Drinking great right now and should continue for another ten to fifteen years.  Wonderful on its own, this would work well with a Mushroom pasta in a cream sauce.  

This is a blend of 41% Roussanne, 26% Chardonnay, 14% Petit Manseng, 12% Viognier and 7% Muskat (Gelber Muskateller).