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Summerland Santa Barbara Chardonnay 2005

Summerland's under-$15 Santa Barbara Chardonnay is a smart fusion of bright varietal flavors and light handed spice, perfect for the season.

Summerland proprietor Bilo Zarif and winemaker Etienne Terlinden have been creating expressive Central Coast Chardonnay for several years, first at Zarif's Barnwood Vineyards and Laetitia Winery, and now at Summerland.

Excellent value ($14). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 14.2%.

Style: Bright, somewhat complex, light spice, crisp/dry.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Light lemon straw. Aromas: Pear, spiced apple and hints of cold blossoms and banana. Tart, juicy and a bit rounded off, the spiced apple, orange and ginger flavors are lively and refreshing in the clean dry finish.

Comment: A trendsetter in a sea of California Chardonnay.

Barefoot Cellars Non-Vintage California Chardonnay

Click for an enlarged picture

At home in a plastic cup or a Riedel glass, at $1 a glass the price is right on this Chardonnay when an "estate pour" isn't called for or when there's no one around you feel the need to impress. Hey look, there isn't even a vintage, but the juice isn't bad, definitely on par with the better boxes priced the same per liter.

Gallo bought the Barefoot brand in early 2005 and continues growing it at an impressive rate. Millennials, a.k.a. "Generation Y" are said to be the target. A lot of Barefoot buyers may just be "Millennial at heart" or on a tight budget. Why not sneak a drink of the "class of 2000"? It's sort of a reversal; you drinking theirs rather than the other way around.

Jennifer Wall is Winemaker for the Barefoot line, and she calls the style "vibrant and fun, fantastic and affordably priced". That sounds a bit like a "one night stand", but at least it doesn't overpromise, which is refreshing.

Excellent value ($9/1.5 Liter). Closure: Neocork. Alcohol content: 13%.

Style: Juicy round tropical and refreshing but uncomplicated.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Light straw, with a greenish tint. Aromas: Tropical fruit: peach, pineapple, lemon and hints of banana. Juicy round and soft with enough acidity to balance the sweet fruit, the tropical punch and green apple crispness leads to a simply refreshing finish.

Pictured below, Barefoot showed up to have some fun at the ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) Festival Tasting in January.

Click for the Winewaves ZAP - Zinfandel Advocates and Producers - January 2007 San Francisco Tasting Photo Album

Henry's Drive Pillar Box White 2006

The aroma is so fresh, it glows in the dark. Just follow your nose to your glass. Here is an innovative way to use Chardonnay grapes.

Pillar Box White follows the successful model of Pillar Box Red. This boîte blanche combines great ingredients, talented winemaking, an immediately accessible slightly off-dry style and an everyday price.

The blend is 66% Chardonnay, 20% Sauvignon Blanc and 14% Verdelho, sourced from Padthaway Australia. Chris Ringland of Henry's Drive is credited as Winemaker and Dan Phillips of Grateful Palate imports and markets it.

Excellent value ($10).  Closure: Screw cap.  Alcohol content: 12.5%.

Style: Unwooded, juicy tart, light and zesty refreshment.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Pale straw with a greenish tint. Aromas: Melon, lime, pear, plus grassy and flinty notes. The mouthfeel is citrusy tart and light-bodied. The sweet and sour lime and orange rind flavors are refreshing with just a touch of mineral and a clean well-balanced finish, albeit barely off-dry.

Comment: Spring forward, pucker up and clean your palate.

Winewaves reviewed Pillar Box Red 2005.

Thierry and Guy Fat Bastard Chardonnay 2005

When you're knocking around in your jeans, and you could toy with a Chardonnay from Nimes, for about ten bucks this wine doesn't suck, you might even say it screams; "What a deal".

For a lot of folks their first exposure to Fat Bastard is being on the giving or receiving end of a "white elephant" gift.  But when tasted, most are surprised to find the wine is mighty fine.  Thierry Boudinaud is Head Winemaker, and Guy Anderson is the "whack to the side of the head".  Together they invented the product and concept which has literally defined casual French wine, a category which would have seemed an oxymoron before the Fat Bastard was born some 10 years ago.

Legend has it that upon tasting a certain lot of 100% Chardonnay, sourced from the Languedoc-Roussillon region north of Nimes, barrel aged 4 months on the lees (yeast bodies), there was an epiphany.  "Thierry exclaimed now zat iz what you call eh phet bast-ard. Guy laughed with a belly laugh you could clearly hear in the neighboring town." They never looked back.

Color: Light lemon gold.  Aromas: Pear, starfruit, cold blossoms and hints of oak spice.  Light-bodied and rounded off a bit, the tart apple, oily citrus and lightly nutty spicy flavors finish crisp dry and refreshing.

Excellent value ($9). Closure: Composite "Neocork". Alcohol content: 13.5%

Peter Click must be credited for recognizing the birth of a phenomenon, and bringing the Fat Bastard to droves of awaiting Americans.

Winewaves reviewed the 2004 vintage of Fat Bastard Chardonnay.

Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Chardonnay 2005

Two thumbs up for this Francis Coppola production which succeeds in being just different enough from the growing pack of $10-15 Chardonnays to stand out.  The personality is sophisticated and complex, possessing a dry wit, and definitely makes for an ideal dining companion.

Winemaker Corey Beck reports the source of Diamond Collection 2005 Chardonnay was Monterey County.  Some lots were fermented in French oak barrels before undergoing malolactic fermentation, before being blended with lots which were fermented in stainless without malolactic fermentation.  The blend then aged 9 months in French oak.

Tasting Notes: Color: Light golden straw.  Aromas: Fruity pear, tropical notes and lime combine with savory hints of green olive, butter and sea salt.  Round and medium-bodied, the orange rind, tart lemon and apple fruit flavors combine with an almost salty minerality that carries into the bone dry finish.

Excellent value ($13).  Closure: Real cork.  Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Food pairing: Herb and fruitwood roasted chicken.

Winewaves reviewed the 2004 vintage of Coppola Diamond Chardonnay.

Woop Woop Chardonnay 2006

Unseasoned with oak, Chardonnay becomes more subtle and fruit forward in the nose, but then you really taste and feel the pure fruit intensity, and the finish is more refreshing.  What is really refreshing is when you find an unwooded Chardonnay that doesn't cost more than oaked ones.  After all, with oak barrels at $800+ each, one expects a discount for bypassing the wood.

Woop Woop* Chardonnay is a project between Penny’s Hill winemaker Ben Riggs and owner Tony Parkinson, imported by Seattle-based Epicurean.  The 100% Chardonnay fruit was sourced from Swan Hill, Victoria and McLaren Vale in south eastern Australia.  Yields this vintage were moderately light, at under 5 tons/acre.

Tasting Notes: Color: Light straw.  Aromas: Pear, apple and hints of gooseberry, lime and orange.  The mouthfeel is light-bodied with nice round citrusy fruity flavors which are intensely refreshing in the tart finish.

Outstanding value ($10).  Closure: Screw cap.  Alcohol content: 13%.

Winewaves reviewed the 2005 vintage of Woop Woop Chardonnay.

*Woop Woop is Australian slang for "the middle of nowhere".

Hedges CMS White Columbia Valley 2005

The Hedges' crazy good fusion of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay plus Marsanne catalyst is very versatile to say the least.

Pete Hedges reports the composition of 2005 CMS White is 44% Chardonnay, 2% Marsanne, and 54% Sauvignon Blanc.  Vinification was all stainless steel.  Cases produced: 14,200.

Tasting Notes: Color: pale straw with a greenish tint.  Aromas: Pear and apple, backed by hints of vanilla and cold blossoms.  At first piercing and lean, then fleshing out into a nice curvy body, the pear, gooseberry, and citrus rind flavors are tart and generous.

Excellent value ($12).  Closure: Artificial "neocork".  Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Food pairing: Turkey & trimmings.

Rodney Strong Sonoma County Chardonnay 2005

Sometimes the easist to overlook wines come from the most reliable, consistent and well run producers, like Rodney Strong.  Even with the passing of founder "Rod" Strong in March of this year, the current owners and winemaking team seem to be in fine form.

Winemaker Rick Sayre reports the composition of Sonoma County Chardonnay 2005 is 100% what it says on the label.  Sayre barrel fermented about 4/10 of the lots, also putting these lots through malolactic fermentation and aging them 8 months in American oak. The larger 6/10 portion of the lots were cold-fermented in stainless steel.

Tasting Notes: Color: Pale lemon straw.  Aromas: Lemon, apple, baking spice and hints of vanilla and butter.  On the tongue there is good concentration and acidity, there is a touch of creaminess, and the spiced peach and pineapple flavors echo in the tart finish.

Excellent value ($11).  Closure: Real cork.  Alcohol content: 13.8%.

Premium 3 Liter Bag-in-Box Chardonnay - Hardy's Stamp Australia 2005 & Black Box Monterey 2005

After spending a couple of weeks with several premium Box Chardonnays in the refrigerator, I'm looking for more of them to try.  In addition to the benefits of lower cost per glass, freshness, convenience, and ease, there is another benefit: the easy to recycle box.

Instead of hauling four glass bottles to the recycle center, you can open the box, remove the bag and spout inside, fold the box and put in your curbside recycle bin (in Nashville glass is not permitted in the curbside bin).

Here's a tip: The bag inside is likely to have a glass of wine left in it when the tap stops.  Therefore, when you remove the bag to recycle the box, just throw that bag (and that last glass of wine inside) in your refigerator for later.  To get the remainder out, cut through the top corner of the bag and pour it out.  This last bit is perfect for cooking, and fine for drinking.

Hardy's Stamp Australia 2005 - Tasting Notes: Color: Light straw.  Peach, vanilla and whiffs of smoke introduce this light, slightly sweet, fruity and tart Chardonnay.  Alcohol content: 13.0%.  Excellent value ($14/3.0 Liter = $3.50/750ml equivalent).

Black Box Monterey Chardonnay 2005 - Tasting Notes: Color: Light golden straw.  Juicy fruity tropical aromas are merged with hints of buttersotch in this nicely dry, clean Chardonnay.  The apple and pear flavors are charged with lemon and tinted by oak.  Alcohol content: 13.5%.
Excellent value ($18/3.0 Liter = $4.50/750ml equivalent).

Constellation Brands owns Black Box and Hardy's.   Ryan Sproule, the Winemaker and Founder at Black Box could be credited with inventing the 3.0 Liter premium box wine category.  Constellation is currently the most aggressive marketer in this fast-growing segment.

Premium 3 Liter Bag-in-Box California Chardonnay: Trove 2005 & Delicato 2005

We have a lot more choices these days when it comes to good quality everyday wine packaged in a bag-in-box format.  This is a response to quickly changing attitudes about wine packaging in the USA.  The box used to mean "cheap"  and "unsophisticated" wine was inside, but this is changing fast.  Lately I've noticed more than a few good wine customers mixing in the newer premium 3 Liter boxes.  Following their lead, I stocked our refrigerator with several premium 3 Liter Chardonnays and began tasting and taking notes. 

The result?  No wonder premium 3 Liter Boxes are growing so fast.  The quality is there for the everyday "house wine" context, and having wine-in-the-box makes the household "bar management" task easier and less expensive.  You always have something fresh and open in stock, you don't have to be concerned about waste, and you don't have to open better bottles if the situation doesn't justify it.

Delicato Chardonnay Bota 2005 - Tasting Notes: Color: Pale straw. A light crisp styled Chardonnay, with applesauce and hints of butter on the nose, the flavors are tropical and the finish is nice and dry.  Alcohol content: 13.5%.  Excellent value ($14/3.0 Liter = $3.50/750ml equivalent).

The Indelicato family owns 10,000+ acres of vineyards near Lodi and along the Central Coast.  The family has been making wine for 75+ years, and has caught a big wave with its Delicato and Kingfish Bota (3 Liter Box) lines.  In addition to their fast growing labels, they have a huge bulk business.  Chris Indelicato is CEO, not to mention grandson of founder Gasparé Indelicato.

Trove Chardonnay Box 2005 - Tasting Notes: Color: Light golden straw. Roundly textured, rich, somewhat tropical aromas (think pineapple-upside- down-cake), somewhat oak-spiced, this Chardonnay is medium-bodied and has nice concentration.  Alcohol content: 13.5%.
Excellent value ($18/3.0 Liter = $4.50/750ml equivalent).

Constellation Brands introduced Trove in early 2006, responding to the current approximately 500% growth rate in the premium 3.0 Liter Box business year-over-year.  Constellation also owns Blackstone and Black Box, and the success of these brands must have figured into the birth of Trove.  Trove is 100% Chardonnay from the North Coast and Central Coast regions.