Benziger, Carneros, Chardonnay 2008 The nose features butter and vanilla and a bit of fresh oak. In the mouth the rich theme continues, with viscosity, butter and oakiness, with balancing acidity in the background. V&B in Graton 13.5% purchased for $10.99 at Bottle Barn Benziger

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Raymond, Napa Valley, Reserve, Chardonnay 2008 The nose features the smell of fresh oak, stone fruit and a bit of coconut and banana. In the mouth it is smooth and restrained, showing richness without thickness – an elegant Chardonnay. This wine was fermented in stainless, 40% of it was aged in new and one year [...]

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Rusack, Santa Barbara, Chardonnay 2008 This is a toasty Chardonnay,with the oak out in force. You smell it immediately as your nose approaches the glass. In the mouth the oak is joined by tropical fruit and a bit of butter, making for a rich style of Chardonnay.
Produced & bottled in Solvang 14.2% $22.99 at Brown [...]

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Domaine Chandon, California, Brut, Classic nv Unfortunately this wine was corked. The aromatics are dampened and the mouth is astringent. A sense of the dosage is the only element coming through.
I was concerned when I removed the foil from the top of the bottle. The smell of TCA was quite apparent. I removed the wire [...]

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Korbel, Russian River Valley Champagne, Natural’ Méthode Champenoise 2007 In the nose you’ll find green apples and strawberries while in the mouth it is acidic, with a sense of apples that have been baked with brown sugar. 65% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay; the style was instigated at Korbel by Adolf Heck in 1962, .7% [...]

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Petaluma, Piccadilly Valley, Chardonnay 2004 The nose offers toastiness, freshly split oak and vanilla with a sense of ripe, tropical fruit. In the mouth the viscosity is matched by steely acidity, combining the best of Burgundian austerity and Australian flamboyance.
I’ve been a fan of Petaluma since Brian Croser paid a visit to our class at [...]

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Shoofly, Adelaide Hills, Chook Raffle, Chardonnay 2008 Give this wine a bit of air to blow off the initial matchstick character. Then you’ll find a medley of green apples, peaches and minerality. In the mouth it is crisp and driven by the fruit, a refreshing Chardonnay that will pair well with rich dishes when you [...]

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Henri Perrusset, Macon Villages, ‘Macon Farges‘, selection vielles vignes 2002 The nose is quite complex with smokiness, nuttiness, butterscotch and brown spices. In the mouth a beautiful richness has developed, buttery and full of baked apple spices yet underpinned by the tartness of green apples, providing a youthful glow under the more mature notes.
This wine [...]

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Ernest & Julio Gallo, Sonoma Coast, Estate, Chardonnay 2005 This wine is firing on all cylinders: the fruit, the acidity and the complexing agents of the winemaker.This is a wine that would make an aritisan in the village of Meursault quite proud, where richness matches acidity, creating a wine to drink today yet able to [...]

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Pierre Morlet, Champagne, Premier Cru, Grande Reserve, Brut nv There’s a lovely biscuit character in the nose, graced with flowers. In the mouth there is lots of green apple and plenty of acidity in the elegant sparkler. The grapes behind this wine are 74% Pinot Noir and 26% Chardonnay. Primary fermentation takes place in wood [...]

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Pommery, Champagne, Brut Royal nv Sweet flowers greet the nose when you smell this wine, with citrus and candy. In the mouth you taste fresh fruit, with a complementary dosage, roundness and lingering candy – nice. The primary grapes behind this wine are Chardonnay from the Cotes des Blancs. Produced in Reims 12.5% $34.99 at [...]

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This flight features two methode traditionnelle sparklers from Spain.
Parxet, Cava, Cuvee 21, Brut nv This Cava smells of herbs with a chemical note while in the mouth it tastes of green apples and there is quite an astringency – unfortunate. The grapes behind this bubbly are Pansa Blanca, Macabeo and Parellada. Elabaorado in Tiana 11.5% [...]

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Spragia Family Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley – Sonoma County, Home Ranch, Chardonnay 2007 This is a rich style of Chardonnay that strikes the balance between fruit, acidity, butteriness and oak. We always dissect these components in the classroom, looking at them individually and how asking they work as a team. The teamwork is what [...]

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Domaine Carneros, Carneros, Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Le Reve 2002 There is the typical sweetness to this wine with a smokiness and an uncharacteristic herbaceous note. The grapes are Chardonnay with the possibility of some Pinot Blanc and the wine was aged for 6 years, before release. Estate grown, produced and bottled in Napa 12% [...]

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Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Champagne, La Grande Dame, Brut 1998 The nose features an evolving medley of dried fruits and nuttiness. In the mouth it is quite acidic, tasting of oranges and brown spices. The unfortunate thing about this particular bottle is the cork taint blurring the full enjoyment of what I would expect is a [...]

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The Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers hosted a seminar and tasting yesterday to showcase the passing of the torch in California’s winegrowing families.
Featured speakers included Warren Bogle, whose family has been farming in Clarksburg for 6 generations. I’ve often featured their great value wines on this blog and in my classes. [...]

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Blue Coast Vineyards, Vin de Pays de Mediterranee, Chardonnay nv This new wine in a box is clean and tangy with a little hint of buttery richness in the background. The grapes are all Chardonnay. Shipped by the Union des Vignerons des Cotes du Rhone in Tulette 13.5% $21.95 for a 3 litre box  is [...]

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Winemaker Chris Millard had an opportunity to visit with our Napa Valley class to describe the wines that he is crafting at Newton. On top of the mountain overlooking St. Helena, he has an extraordinary amount of fruit to select from, giving him the luxury of selling off the lots that don’t make the grade.
Newton [...]

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Sutter Home, California, Chardonnay 2006 The nose features oak, butter and tropical fruit. In the mouth the concentration is low yet the wine is clean. There’s a little residual sugar to amplify the fruit and a buttery quality that is quite popular.
I realize that this is a wine that most wine writers would ignore because [...]

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Ernest & Julio Gallo, Sonoma Coast, Estate, Chardonnay 2005 The nose features toasty oak and freshly baked biscuits. In the mouth the richness of the notes described in the nose is accentuated by a thickness and viscosity yet there is nerve, acidity as if from fresh green apples. This is one of those Chardonnays that [...]

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Appellation St. Helena hosted a tasting on Tuesday to show off the wines of the AVA. We discussed the recent vintages and tasted 48 wines, with a strong emphasis on Cabernet Sauvignon. Below is a baker’s dozen, the stars of the tasting – great Cabernet but more, including Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel. The post [...]

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V. Sattui Winery, Napa Valley, Los Carneros, Chardonnay 2007 The oak is quite prominent in the nose, freshly split, with notes of tropical fruit, bananas and coconut. In the mouth the oak continues, with a healthy dash of butter on top of the tropically-themed fruits. The wine was barrel fermented and aged on the lees [...]

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Verget, Meursault 2006 In the nose you’ll find sweet oak with green herbs with a little volatility. In the mouth there is plenty of acidity, an expression of fresh lemons and a little thickness. From Jean-Marie Guffen, Vinifie et mis en bouteilles in Sologny. 13% $27.99 at Bottle Barn Verget

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Jean-Marc Brocard, Chablis Premier Cru, Vaucoupin 2006 In the nose you’ll find a steely, flinty quality melded with apples baked in a pastry – yes a fresh apple tart. In the mouth the acidity is tempered by some viscosity with a bit of warmth in the background. Mis en bouteille a Prehy 13% $23.99 at [...]

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Chateau Montelena, Napa Valley, Chardonnay 2007 In the nose there’s a sense of brioche while the mouth sports green apple, with a patina of silkiness and very long acidity – very nice and always a personal favorite. P&B in Calistoga 13.7% $39.99 purchased at Bottle Barn Montelena

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Tandem, Russian River Valley, Porter-Bass Vineyard, Chardonnay 2005 With 4 years since the harvest this wine is developing some nice complexity. The nose sports wet stones, toastiness, tropical fruits, hay and lanolin. In the mouth there is a richness of texture, an unctuous quality that is counterbalanced by acidity and minerality. The wine has great [...]

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This summer we met with proprietor Peter Prager at the family winery in St. Helena. If you haven’t been there you must stop by for a visit if you’re a fan of the wines of the Douro. The Pragers have specialized in Port since they started the winery in 1979.
The tasting room is the definition [...]

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McWilliam’s Hanwood Estate, South Eastern Australia, Chardonnay 2007 In the nose there is plenty of fruit, from pear to tropicals like papaya. In the mouth the freshness of the fruit is front and center, accentuated by just enough acidity, with a little warmth and oaky richness as well as a roundness to the mouthfeel -very [...]

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Robledo, Los Carneros, Rancho Maria, Chardonnay 2007 This is the rich expression of California Chardonnay yet with a sense of balancing acidity. All of the bells and whistles seems to have been brought to the game, producing buttery flavors and doughy, pastry-like notes. The citrus flavors and accompanying acidity keep it from going over the [...]

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Gloria Ferrer, Sonoma County, Brut nv The nose is ripe with apples which carries through on the palate. There’s a healthy dosage that combines with the fruit to create a sweeter sensation than you’ll see with some of the other bubblies labeled brut.  The grapes are a combination of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. P&B in [...]

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