Saintsbury, Carneros, Chardonnay 2008 The nose features hazelnuts and tropical fruit in ample supply. In the mouth viscosity is matched by acidity, creating a balanced wine that showcases stone fruits like peaches and apricots and tropical fruits like pineapple and papaya, all daubed with buttery richness. The acidity carries the flavors a long way – very nice.
I had an informative visit to the winery over 10 years ago and it’s great to see the wines are still on form. This is a house that has had a strong focus on the Carneros and in particular, still wines from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The wine was barrel fermented, put through full malolactic and aged in French oak barrels for 8 months, 20% of which were new. Produced and bottled in Sonoma 13.5% $19.99 at the winery, a media sample