And nope, not pinots, but chardonnay. Friends dropped by and we opened:
2005 Acacia 'A', $9.99
Golden color with fairly standard California chardonnay nose and flavor. Bigger body than one usually expects for the price, but (unfortunately for me) it comes with a lot of toasted oak. Has a slightly bitter finish which I suspect means 14% or higher alcohol, but the label only claims 13.6%. Still, fair value. This wine was followed by:
2004 Belle Pente "Belle Pente Vineyard" Chardonnay, Oregon, $22.99
Well, hello there. We've jumped up $13 in price and one can taste every penny of it. Gorgeous complex nose and flavors of sweet apple, pear, lemon and white flowers, lovely long finish and no RS. Very fine, and a great sipping chardonnay. Which was followed by:
2005 Evesham Wood "Le Puits Sec" Chardonnay, Eola-Amity Hills, Oregon
$18
After the Belle Pente, this bone dry wine seemed rustic and chunky. In fact, for a chardonnay, it was surprisingly unfruity. Minerally, but more than that, savory, a word I am certain I've never used before for this grape. Not a sipping wine, but very interesting and very good, especially as by now our guests had left and we were having our main course of chicken (vs. beef) based French onion soup with raclette crouton, and the wine showed much better with food.