I was invited to dine with my friend Ed’s group last month. When he told me this august group of francophiles had chosen a theme of California Chardonnay for the evening, I almost dropped dead from shock. I should have known then and there that there would be some very old bottles dusted off that evening. All wines were served blind and nobody knew the years or producers other than for the bottle he or she brought. It was pretty easy to pick out the old wines, though!
1984 Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay Les Pierres Sonoma Valley. The color here is an advanced golden hue. It smells very smoky and flinty, with a steely oxidized character and some sulfur notes in the background. It opens up to pull in a vein of fairly flamboyant aromas of pineapple, grapefruit and lime but also a briny salinity and an oaky, nutty character, as well. In the mouth, it is medium-bodied and obviously mature—with very gentle acidity. Flavors of butterscotch, honey, tangy yellow fruit, copper and botanical herbs are surprisingly lively and giving through the middle, but definitely turn more austere and dry on the tough finish. The dried out character builds up over time and it becomes pretty difficult to find the positives after a while.
1985 Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay Les Pierres Sonoma Valley. The ’85 is a more obviously advanced dark gold color. Oxidized aromas of tin, copper and sherry blend with bits of wet wool, apple juice, roasted nuts and browned butter that fall within a fairly restricted, narrow band. In the mouth, it has some interesting flavors of baked apples, herbs, flint and copper that are again on the dry side, though decently expansive and layered. It is not totally oxidized, but like its partner in crime, it has seen better days, for sure.
1977 Stony Hill Chardonnay Napa Valley. This wine is the most sherried of the line-up—with aromas of rancid nuts, musk, peat moss and rusty nail. Sadly, it is totally oxidized in the mouth, as well--showing tin, sherry and herb notes that are dry, austere and unpleasant. It is a real shame that this little piece of history couldn’t quite deliver.
1985 Hanzell Chardonnay Sonoma Valley. Along with the ’85 Les Pierres, this is probably the darkest-colored wine on the table, though it seems to have a nice bright sheen to it. In any event, it offers up interesting aromas of apple butter, Major Grey’s chutney, apricot jam and a bit of botanical herbs and crabapple. In the mouth, it shows flavors of white peach, baked apples and hazelnuts. There are some oxidative flavors, too, but they seem to fit in OK. It lacks much drive at this point, but there is a nice little twang of sour acidity in there, giving it some life. It finishes real dry, and needs to be drunk, but it is an interesting older Chardonnay.
2005 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard Sonoma Coast. This is a whole different story. The wine is cloudy, with tinges of green to it. It smells just great—with all kinds of flinty smoke, hazelnut, limestone, resin, mineral, pear, Delicious apple and peppermint puff aromas playing along well with a kiss of classy oak and vanillin. Overall, it is still a bit youthfully taut and restrained, yet complex, exotic and detailed. It is real expansive and broad on the palate, with a fanned out tail featuring a rich pageant of smoke, soft oak, pear, lemon ball, clementine and hazelnut flavors that are totally rounded out and inviting. The acidity is a bit soft and the languid character of the wine could benefit from just a bit more cut and more integrated wood, but there is so much goodness here that these seem like quibbles. I think I would give this another 2 or 3 years before trying again, but it is also delicious right now. My runner-up WOTN.
1990 Kistler Chardonnay Kistler Estate Vineyard Sonoma Valley. This wine smells exactly like a giant tub of creamy butter--nothing else, just pure and unadulterated butter. I can smell nothing but butter for the longest time, maybe some margarine, too. I have never in all of my years drinking Chardonnay encountered such an overwhelming sense of butter—not just “buttery”, but pure butter—just wild. Much later in the evening, I can sort of pick out bits of botanical herbs, moss and copper, but otherwise it stays in line with its core personality all night. In the mouth, it sports flavors of hardened meringue, butterscoth, some tangy cherries and browned butter. It actually has some sharp acidity and a little sour edge, and is pretty well-structured compared to what one might expect based on the nose. It slowly grows all night, taking on more brown spices and gaining in volume, though staying a bit too tangy for my tastes.
2006 Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay Estate Bottled Santa Cruz Mountains. This is one of the palest-colored wines on the table. The nose is not as effusive as many of the others—seeming to need a whole lot of coaxing before starting to strut its fine scents of sweet chalk dust, apple, green pear and tight-grained, recessive wood. In the mouth, it is more giving, with outstanding drive and vivacity, but also really rich fruit and early signs of classy layering and fine minerality. Mid-weighted, it still has a pleasing viscosity while staying fresh and well-cut. It would likely benefit from another 2-3 years in the cellar, but still my #3 WOTN.
2007 Ceritas Chardonnay Porter-Bass Vineyards Russian River Valley. There’s a cool, crisp nose to this one—with seashell, green herb, graphite, vinyl, pear, apple skin, slate and smoke aromas in nice easy balance. In the mouth, it delivers just a ton of flavor, with white peaches, other pit fruits, figs, pears, apples, orange peels and hazelnuts completely coating the palate, yet never feeling overdone. It is exuberant and giving, but classy and restrained at the same time—with a long and balanced finish. It is not as exotic as the Aubert, but has a bit more lift and plenty of class. My WOTN.
2007 Peter Michael Chardonnay La Carrière Knight’s Valley. This wine has aromas of crushed shells, white gravel, chopped green herbs, hazelnut and a bit of soft oak—staying fairly taut and young. In the mouth, it is probably the most obviously full-bodied and weighty wine on the table. It is forward and richly-fruited, with a thick, low-acid feel to it. Interesting flavors of cedar, mint, fig, apple, pear and vanilla lack some drive and definition, but make up for it in sheer lasting presence and fanned out lusciousness.
2004 Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay Estate Bottled Santa Cruz Mountains. Medium-dark colored, this wine smells of struck flintlock, white peach, white flowers, stones, citrus and vanilla, but all in a bit more backward package than most—very nice but sort of champing at the bit right now. However, it is classic in the mouth, with lots of vanilla, cream, soft oak, rich pear and apple fruit—all in a voluptuous, draped package with a palate-coating viscosity. It is just full of stuffing and over time starts to show more of its fine tangy qualities to balance out the rich yellow fruit. The palate presence is impressive and the flavors are right up there with the best of the night.
Afterwards, Ed and I had a chance to meet some folks at a table nearby, and they offered us healthy pours of the wines they were tasting in exchange for some of our leftovers.
1999 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru. This features a rich, sort of heavy bouquet of grainy peach pit, lemon ball and soft oak aromas. It is full and lush in the mouth, with a good dose of wood showing, but a very solid palate presence overall. It seems still young and a bit densely raw, with enormous volume and weight—maybe a bit too heavy at times, really. There is a good deal of class lurking below, so perhaps give this a while to come come into better focus.
1991 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru. There is a really beautiful nose to this wine, with musky scents of red flowers, licorice rope, creamed cherry, currants and earth nicely packaged and presented. In the mouth, it is red-fruited but cool and prickly—with a bit of a linear, compacted character that nonetheless shows great length and persistence. It sports a nice solid structure and an air of class, but the fruit is quite dry, austere-edged and tight at this stage of the game. I’m a bit unsure of its forward evolution, so maybe it is time to drink up.
-Michael