2011 Sonoma-Loeb ‘Envoy’ Chardonnay, Carneros
Clear medium straw color. Using select lots from the famed Sangiacomo Vineyard on the Sonoma side of Carneros, winemaker Phillip Corallo-Titus has fashioned a stunning Chardonnay. The nose is pure California in expression, offering up hedonistic… Read more
2011 Sbragia Chardonnay, Home Ranch, Dry Creek Valley
Clear medium straw color. Lots of smoky oak, vanilla and sweet butter scents frame the ample peach, pear and pineapple in the nose. Lush and mouthfilling, the buttery fruit follows through to a lip-smacking, long afterflavor. This is very much a… Read more
2011 J. Lohr ‘October Night’ Chardonnay, Arroyo Seco, Monterey County
Clear light straw color. The perfumed nose exhibits exotic Asian flowers and fruits, sweet Meyer lemon, and oak shadings of vanilla and clove. The wine is medium-full in the mouth, with fine balance. From mid-palate on, it gains volume, pumping… Read more
2011 d’Arenberg ‘The Olive Grove’ Chardonnay, McLaren Vale/Adelaide Hills, Australia
Very light straw color with green glints. Scents of spiced oak and light butter frame citrus blossom, lime, minerals and green apple. On the palate, initial sharp citrus tang leads to sweeter, rounder fruit impression in the mid-palate. At the… Read more
2011 Windstream Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
The cool climate of the Santa Lucia Highlands allows Chardonnay to develop along Burgundian lines. This bottling from Maddalena Brands shows complex aromas and flavors of ripe pear, green apple, honey and bright shadings of spiced oak and butter…. Read more
2010 Maddalena Chardonnay, Monterey County
Crisp and fruity, this wine has lots of character, from citrus and apple to tropical fruit aromas and flavors. A small percentage of the juice sees oak barrels for aging — just enough to round out the sharper acid edges. Year in and year out, a… Read more
2009 Jefferson Vineyards Chardonnay Reserve, Virginia
It feels silly in a way, always prefacing a positive review about Virginia wine with a kind of pseudo-apology, the same kind that frequently adorns wines from Greece. Fact is, there are SOME wines being produced right now in the state that can… Read more
2010 Pierre Overnoy Chardonnay, Arbois, Jura, France
As posted previously, the wines of Pierre Overnoy (or I should say, Emmanuel Houillon, who now runs the estate) are something of a cult item. Of course, they are also nearly impossible to get in the U.S., unless you live in New York — and even… Read more
2011 Talbott Vineyards ‘Logan’ Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands
Medium straw color. Whiffs of charred oak and vanilla frame ripe apple with a note of honey. A refreshing thread of acidity as the wine enters the palate plays nicely off of the buttered apple fruit. The juicy finish lingers, inviting the next sip…. Read more
2011 Talbott Vineyards ‘Kali Hart’ Chardonnay, Monterey
Light straw color. Initial aromas of smoke, citrus, honeydew melon, ripe apple and cream lead to honey-kissed citrus and fleshier tropical fruit flavors in the mouth. For a Chardonnay that sees relatively little French oak contact (only 15% of the… Read more
