Chardonnay

Cool crisp Chardonnay.  Whether it's the Summer heat a crisp Fall evening around the fire pit or a Winters night watching a movie, this wine is sure to please.   Why is this grape so popular.  According to the Agricultural Department’s California grape acreage report from March 2013; Chardonnay is still the number one planted grape in California.  At just over 95 thousand acres planted, it tops the highest planted red grape varietal; Cabernet Sauvignon by nearly 15,000 acres.  Chardonnay can be light to medium to full bodied.  The grapes flavor and aroma are fairly neutral.  Before the winemaker’s manipulation it exhibits simple green apple and mineral notes.   Due to this fact winemaker’s have subjected this grape’s juice to a wide variety of winemaking practices.  They may implement malolactic fermentation, barrel  fermentation, sur lie aging or lees  stirring to create more assertive flavors in the wine.  Typical aromas for this wine are:
                                                 flint/stone               green apple
                                                 citrus                      pears
                                                 melon                     nuts
                                                 pineapple               honey
                                                 banana                   peach
                                                 apricot                   ginger
                                                 butter                     vanilla
                                                 smoke                    oak
                                                 burnt sugar             butterscotch                                                                                                                    caramel                  nutmeg

Chardonnay is indigenous to Burgundy France.  Although this grape  grows best in limestone soils in a cool to moderate climate; it is versatile enough to have been planted around the world in all soil types and a variety of climates.  Because this grape is so adaptable and so readily changed by the craft of the winemaker; it is often described in two styles.  Old World and New World.  Old world is high in acid and typically long lived.  The flavors tend to be more green, minerally and have very little wood.  New World tends to have much riper fruit qualities, a lot of oak, low acid and a much shorter life span. And thus the debate begins and battle lines are drawn over what style you prefer.  We tasted 14 Chardonnays and will let you begin your own debates over which style you prefer.  Look for tasting notes to come.

"Wine is bottled poetry"
          -Robert Louis Stevenson-
 

Tom Cook

#Chardonnay, #California, #France, #OldWorld, #NewWorld, #wine, #aromas
















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