Freshly arrived on Wed, decided to try the two new Ojai Chards:
1. Ojai Chard SBC (14.0%) 2008: Light gold color; pleasant/simple appley/Chard light pencilly/oak slight spicy/earthy/lemony nose; rather tart/lean/tight light lemony/appley/Chard slight pencilly/oak light earthy/citric/grapefruity flavor; med.short light lemony/grapefruity/appley/Chard lean/austere/citric slight pencilly finish; a tight/lean/austere/citric/grapefruity Chard; pleasant/simple but not very interesting; in a Chablis style but lacks the chalky/minerally character of Chablis; might improve some w/ a yr or two of age but seems iffy; not a Chard that'll play well in Monktown. $20.00
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2. Ojai Chard BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (14.0%) 2008: Med.gold color; some toasty/pencilly/oak lush/ripe/melony/Chard/spicy/nutmeg lovely nose; fairly tart ripe/lush/melony/Chard some toasty/pencilly/oak spicy/nutmeg flavor; very long spicy/nutmeg/pencilly/oak ripe/melony/Chard finish; much more fruit & structure & richness; needs 2-5 yrs; pretty classic Ojai Chard at a great price. $23.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. The SBC Chard is a new one for Adam. They've all been vnyd-designates in the past as I recall. Seems probably reflective of the new direction that he's taking Ojai wines perhaps. I've always liked Adam's Chards in the past and feel he never gets much recognition for them (and his SauvBlanc). This SBC Chard seems like a mean/little wine that's short on flavor and not very attractive; rather lean & austere. But the jury's out on this one for right now. It may develop into something pretty nice with a yr or two of age. You gotta believe that Adam knows what he's doing.
Tom