$30.59-$35.99, 89 points, has a light ginger-ale color (Finishes with a bit of ginger), the aroma is apple, lemon and lime, and carries over to the palate. This Chardonnay reminds me of a more medium-bodied Sauvignon Blanc (Crisp and refreshing) with only hints of oak; what you have here is the delicious factor.
Cakebread Cellars Carneros Napa Valley Reserve 2007 Chardonnay,
$46.74-$54.99, 91 points, is very similar to the 2010 Chardonnay, but add a creamy texture, vanilla hints, and a longer, more ginger-spice on the finish, and voila, the same wine.
Both wines paired well with battered scallops and shark steaks.
Though I liked these wines, the QPR is problematic.
Index-of-reviewed-wines
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How dry would you consider these two? I'm not accustomed to a chardonnay with vanilla hints, sounds quite tasty though!
ReplyDeleteBen, the understanding I have is that vanilla is a result of the oak that the wine is aged in, you might find spice, caramel, butterscotch, tobacco, coffee, chocolate, and other flavors, with French oak a bit different; it seems as though Chardonnay is about the best wine for the oak-treatment, but there is unoaked Chards which have a more Sauvignon flavor.
ReplyDeleteEthan is better at picking these things out than I am, but even if you are talking about Slovakian oak, there is a "Black hole" of information on this subject.
I like just hint of these flavors, and I don't want any of them to over whelm the wine (Grape) itself.
Oh, I'm sorry Ben, I forgot you first question :-0
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say that either of these wines struck me as "bone dry", but were typically dry, a balance of warm weather hints of honey on the 2007 and less sweet with the 2010.
Cheers Dennis! Anxious to try one or both of these if they're available upon my return
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