WTN: Chardonnay, Montepuliciano, Gruner Veltliner

Wednesday went to a grants reward dinner at a local church. Nice group of representatives of non-profits and members of the church. Dinner was salmon, chicken with mango salsa, rice salad, orzo salad, kale salad, Caesar salad. Lots of wine choices, mostly mags of Pinot Grigio, Cupcake rose, Decoy SB., etc. A few interesting bottles (Macon, OR PN) that weren’t open and I didn’t think bypassing open wines fit situation. So tried a few more promising open wines:

2021 Santa Barbara Winery Chardonnay
Oaky butterscotch notes, a touch of sweetness, rather flacid in mouth, not a fan. C+

2022 Riporta Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Cherries with a little kirsch edge, ripe and juicy, not very complex but certainly drinkable. B-

2024 Hiedler “Loess” Gruner Veltliner
Pear and white pepper, touch of grass on finish, good balance, nice mineral finish. Good value play. B/B+


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was the only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

[David M. Bueker]

Yep. I don’t tend to write tasting notes on value Grüner (tends to get repetitive), but I always grab a few bottles of the Loess every year.

[Jenise]

IIRC, that Santa Barbara label is sold at, and possibly made just for, Trader Joe's where my brother in law sometimes shops for inexpensive chardonnay, his nearly-exclusive drink of choice. Boring and bland.

The Hiedler is at a couple stores I occasionally shop, and I will use as a casefiller next time I have an order at one of those places.

Jenise, we might be talking about different wines. The TJs near me don't sell wine (NY allows one store per permittee), and this seems to be at lots of stores. Just looked at CT, recent vintages show people buying from winery, Saratoga, Rye Brook, Solano, Total as well as Costco, Whole Foods, and other grocery stores. No TJs on any vintage.