1. Sunlight Chard Calif Carneros/RRV/SLH (13.2%; www.SunlightWine.com) OutlierWine/SF; DerekRohlffs/Winemaker 2014: Light gold color; quite attractive melony/Chard/lemony/spicy rather SLH/celery seed light Fr.oak/nutmeg lovely nose; fairly tart/citrusy bright/lemony/melony/Chard light Fr.oak/nutmeg balanced quite attractive Chard flavor; very long tart/tangy/lemony ripe/melony/Chard/spicy some SLH/celery seed light nutmeg/Fr.oak finish; not a profound Chard but a very pretty/bright/balanced/spicy Chard at a great price; speaks strongly of SantaLuciaHighlands Chard w/ a strong celery seed character; blows away any TJ's Chard in this price range. $16.00 (Prima/IlC)
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2. DryCreekVnyd Chard DCV Estate Block 10/RRV (14.5%; 100% brl frmtd/85% ML; SaH: 23.7 Brix, TA: 0.62) 2014: Light gold color; modest taosty/smokey/oak very strong Chard/melony/ripe honeydew very spicy/cloves/nutmeg beautiful nose; lightly tart/tangy/citric very strong ripe/honeydew/melony/Chard/lemony quite rich/lush structured some smokey/toasty/butterscotchy/Fr.oak very balanced/structured RRV Chard flavor; very long/lingering ripe/Chard/honeydew/melony light toasty/Fr.oak finish; a lovely classic RRV balanced/structured Chard that should go out another 4-8 yrs. $24.00 (VSP)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. For a good many yrs, I was a charter member of the ABC club and rejected any of those buttery/over-oaked Calif Chards. Over the last few yrs, I've been finding an awful lot to like in Calif Chard. And we "know", of course, that Chard displays terroir better than any other grape. We do "know" that, don't we??
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2. DCV: The last few yrs, under TimBell, the DryCreekVnyd wines have been hitting on all cylinders. The best wines they've probably ever made. This Chard is no exception.
Tom