Cuvaison Carneros Napa Valley 2009 Chardonnay, $14.44-$22.99, 90 points, began with a nice
clear golden hue, with a cold aroma of citrus that warmed to hints of bacon and nectarine (Acid 6.5 grams/liter). The flavor layers peeled opened as the wine was awash with air and warmed even more; from lime to honey lemon into a fine creamy ginger finish. Cuvaison fashions a complex, but approachable wine that is consistently good.
Greystone Cellars 2009 Chardonnay, $9.99-$12.99, 87 points, began cold and somewhat muted, but warmed with the aroma of crisp Fuji apple, but warmed into an aroma of butterscotch and toast with a hint of diesel. The color is light goldenrod, with flavors that began with as an almost flat vinegar citrus, but morphed nicely into flavors of quince and hints of mild celery. This Chardonnay is a good table wine, but, for me, not what I had expected by all the reviews. Experts not withstanding, I have my palate and they have theirs. Let me know what you think.
Both these wines paired nicely with fried haddock and clams with Coleslaw.
Index-of-reviewed-wines
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A few days ago, I heard this popular sommelier freak-out about a Flume Blanc that was fermented in partly stainless steel and partly in oak, he was upset that a Blanc should be a Blanc, but he didn't seem upset about non-oaked Chardonnay; am I missing something, but is this contradictory (I did spend some time looking for his reviews on un-oaked Chardonnays and didn't find any --so little time because his archives are cumbersome to navigate and time-consuming) ? Also , and interesting bloke from Australia just seems to hate Sauvignon Blanc as a rule. Why are we "purists" when it suits us? Are we not showing a bias? I'm going out on a limb here, but if a winery is able to produce a fine wine, that is interesting and consistently delicious, but is a bit out of the box, should we freak-out and go to critical extremes? If the wine he spoke of (I have tasted with others) is 82 points, then shouldn't it be way out of whack?
ReplyDeleteThoughts on this, anyone?