by Jimmy Cocktail
9. May 2011 04:45
Chardonnay may be the single most ubiquitous grape in the entire world. It is grown on 6 of the seven continents and I’m pretty sure that the only reason it doesn’t grow in Antarctica is because those glaciers don’t stay still long enough for the roots to find soil. What I’m saying is that this grape grows everywhere.
Because of this, there is no defined style of wine for the Chardonnay grape. At Chrysalis Vineyards, we make chardonnay in two styles, one that is fermented 100% in stainless steel and one that sees time in oak barrels plus goes through a partial malolactic fermentation (MLF). (As a side note, MLF is worthy of a column all on its own) I only mention this to illustrate a couple of the styles of wine that can be made from Chardonnay, because it is also one of the three grapes allowed in the making of Champagne, it can be used in late harvest and even botrytized wines!
With that being said, for a while there was a trend in California to make Chardonnay wines that were loaded with oak and butter, to the point where these flavors overwhelmed the fruit. Now, it should be noted that Chardonnay is not a terribly aromatic grape so your could easily mask the smell of the fruit with oak, but on the palate the fruit should still be centerpiece of the wine, IMO. It is only in the last couple of years when a backlash against these overly oaked wines has begun to appear and the winemakers in California are beginning to take notice.
Now I really have no idea what wine Ms Cocktail will pour for me during my blind tastings as I have instructed her that everything is fair game. So I was quite surprised when she pulled back the cover on this wine as it is definitely a wine that is made to appeal to as wide a variety of palates as possible. It is not overly oaked nor completely unoaked. It is not too fruity or too dry or too anything. It is also not a stellar wine however, at the price point I believe that many people will find this to be a quite acceptable version of a Chardonnay.
At some point I will need to start assigning some type of rating system to the wines I write up but for right now, let’s just say that I’d find this a two on a scale of one to five. Drinkable, but not one that I would go out of my way to find.
Tasting notes:
This is a clear, medium(+) intense, lemon colored wine with legs. It has a clean, youthful, medium(-) intense nose having aromas of lime and mineral. It is an off-dry wine with medium(-) acidity, medium alcohol, no tannins and a medium(-) body. It has medium intense flavors of lime, pear and mineral with a medium(+) length finish. It is an acceptable wine that is ready to drink now but will not improve in the bottle.
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