I'm in the process of cleaning out my now-full tasting notebook from this late fall and winter. The following are random Chardonnays that I've not gotten around to posting on the past few months.
2003 Rochioli Chardonnay River Block Russian River Valley. This fantastic Chardonnay is deep dark yellow colored with a bright green tint. The bouquet soars up out of the glass, with tons of creamy chalk, delicious apples, brown sugar, meringue, vanilla bean, lemon sour ball and soft plush oak. It is deep and creamy and luscious on the palate and in no way overblown or blousy. Indeed, there is a finely taut structure to the wine that supports a viscous, thick wine tasting of apricot, pear, citrus and spice. The very long finish turns smoky and perfectly crisp. Outstanding effort from Rochioli.
2005 Trevor Jones Chardonnay Virgin Barossa Valley. This needs a bit of a chill to show its best, it seems. When it is too warm, it comes across as sour and pinched. When cooled down, it sports crisp green apples, river stones, pear skin and sourballs on the nose. In the mouth, it is still on the sour, tart side and does better with food than on its own, for sure. It is surprisingly oily-textured. It does not have much length and finishes with an odd bitter club soda note, but otherwise is clean and pleasant enough. I’ve had this now about 5 times and it has never really done much for me other than offer an ok quaff.
2003 Ramey Chardonnay Russian River Valley. 375 ml. This is a classic Ramey Chardonnay nose of citrus peel, bright fruit and wet rocks. It sports a leesy mouthfeel with solid intensity and waves of rich fruit. Finishes long and creamy.
2001 Ridge Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains. This offers an interesting nose of nectarine pit, graphite, and oddly, blue and red pixie stick dust. It is fullish-bodied in the mouth with noticeable oak and toasted spices, but also rich rounded pear fruit to go with buttery and nutty flavors. It manages to avoid being flabby, but still holds onto plenty of caramel oak and spice accents on the solid-length finish.
2004 DeBortoli Chardonnay Windy Peak Victoria Australia. This was introduced to me as an unoaked Chardonnay, but the first thing I felt I smelled on the nose was soft oak, along with notes of pear and powdery chalk. It is just ok in the mouth, with again a feeling of toasty oak to go with juicy pear fruit on a medium-bodied frame. Hardly special.
2005 Morgan Chardonnay Highland Santa Lucia Highlands. This sports an open and giving nose of vanilla, nutmeg, apricot, pear, citrus skin, sea shells and rock candy. It is not quite as impressive in the mouth. It is on the fuller-bodied side, with an open-knit texture and a bit of a clingy personality (though it is not especially buttery-styled). There is some cloying oak on the shortish finish. This is not really up to the standards of Morgan’s Double L offerings.
2005 Verget Bourgogne Blanc ‘Terroirs de Cote d’Or’. The Verget is very taut and tart on the nose, with notes of citrus, chalk dust and wet stones. It is equally tart in the mouth, but does create a moderate mouthwatering effect with its high acidity and sour citrus, pineapple and apple fruit profile. It is a bit puckering on the lime-tinged finish. Perhaps better in six months?
-Michael