I was not sure what to expect from a chardonnay priced at $12.99.
I did expect it to taste like it came from California. Nope. I wanted it to taste like the varietal chardonnay. Close. And I wanted it to be balanced with acidity, fruit and oak. Closer.
My first mistake; I drank it way to cold. As Americans, and as New Jerseyans, I see consumers make this mistake often. Everyone thinks they need to ice the shit out of their white wine. What this is doing is muting the flavors. It’s like drinking the wine at 60%, and that is not what anyone wants to do, right?
Once it warmed up, I experienced that nice lemon/lime flavor that comes from Monterey fruit. (the area in California where this wine is sourced) It was, well, nice. When I stated that I wanted it to taste like where it came from, this is what I was talking about. I’ve always had wines from this area with more of a tropical feel; sexy, lingering, and a little spicy. I got lemon/lime – eh.
And there was oak, but not to much. I hate to say this, but I would have liked a little more. Stating that is like showing more cleavage and pretending no one notices – more sometimes means MORE. Chardonnay under $15.00 can be way over oaked and nasty. I like oak components when done correctly. That’s what this wine needed; a little oak kick in the ass to balance it out.
Didn’t light my world on fire, but did the job. Was refreshing, but not life changing. I wouldn’t be able to distinguish this wine in a blind tasting, but would not be embarrassed to bring it to a dinner party. Better on it’s own, but could pair well with lighter dishes. I had chicken with it, and it disappeared. It’s good blog writing wine, or second bottle wine. (you know, when you are not really paying attention….)
By the way – I had this wine in my Riedel “O” glass. This is a stemless glass from the very famous wine glass company Riedel. They produce glassware that supports and influences the flavors in wines to release and tell their story. This does work. This is not bullshit. I was a non believer and poo poo’d this for a long time; I was wrong! Blog post coming on glassware and I will explain further. Keep drinking out of your mason jars for the time being, but know there is a glassware makeover coming your way!
