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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.8 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 42 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by CMN on 11/1/2021: Golden yellow with a nose of bruised yellow apples and lemon. Lemon, apple and a touch of a tropical note, but the fruit shades somewhat bitter. Moderately scaled with good acidity. Drink now. (1055 views) | | | Tasted by Altonplace on 11/2/2019 flawed bottle: As last commentor noted in August, likely to head downhill. Ours did. Not submitting score as previous bottles outstanding. (1403 views) | | | Tasted by Altonplace on 8/30/2019 & rated 89 points: Perfectly drinkable but likely to drop off soon. (1425 views) | | | Tasted by Altonplace on 5/10/2019 & rated 90 points: Wonderful for a chardonnay! (1588 views) | | | Tasted by bonedoc on 10/7/2018: Yup, oxidized - suspicious last time, confirmed this time. (1842 views) | | | Tasted by bonedoc on 8/26/2018 & rated 90 points: Couldn’t tell if was my ragweed allergy and a stuffy nose, but this seemed a little oxidized. (1274 views) | | | Tasted by scotty_b on 10/11/2017 & rated 92 points: Pineapple, lemon, apple, minerals, brioche, marzipan. Silky smooth with or without food. Old world style but not as crisp. Still fresh, but I think it's peaked. Drink now if you have it. (1309 views) | | | Tasted by LARich on 10/9/2017 & rated 92 points: Drink now. Still wonderful but not much longer. (1212 views) | | | Tasted by gmbdds on 5/25/2017 flawed bottle: Color is just on the brown side of golden. Drinkable and even almost good but definitely oxidized. (1325 views) | | | Tasted by Backdoctor on 1/10/2017 & rated 94 points: varner has to be the best value in chards out there. Solid wine, drinking well after 6 yrs. (1323 views) | | | Tasted by bonedoc on 12/11/2016: All 2010's, all very good, around 92/93, similar in style and quality, no clear winner.
#1- Varner amphitheater
#2- Varner home
#3- mt Eden estate (1310 views) | | | Tasted by blaiseiii on 7/22/2016 flawed bottle: Corked (1562 views) | | | Tasted by bonedoc on 3/12/2016 flawed bottle: Corked. (1414 views) | | | Tasted by walkerjfw on 10/16/2015 & rated 91 points: At home with Valerie. PnP, drank over 3 hours.
Consistent with prior notes:"French in style Medium/light gold color - great clarity. Citrus, lemon, oak, marzipan on the nose. Palate repeats with vanilla, apples, pear..."
Still holding strong acidity, reasonably balanced but has not mellowed much (from memory). Would drink over next 2-3 years. (1410 views) | | | Tasted by brianofthevine on 4/30/2015 & rated 90 points: Creamy lemon oil, green apple, and citrus, good minerality, nice finish. (962 views) | | | Tasted by gmbdds on 4/12/2015 & rated 91 points: Lemon and baked apple notes with pleasant spice complexity on a clean and tight frame. (1511 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 9/25/2014 & rated 93 points: Opened by tlv during his daughter's birthday dinner and paired with the foie/bone marrow course, served alongside the Girardin.
Notes of apple, lemon and stone- there are definitely similarities to the Girardin. Flavors of orchard fruit and stone, with a long balanced finish. A wonderful wine, but just a notch below the Burg tonight. (1851 views) | | | Tasted by thelostverse on 9/25/2014 & rated 93 points: Opened at Anvil for April's birthday. This may have suffered next to the White Burg opened by Allred. Lemon notes with some apple - no oak noticeable this time around. Still a beauty though. (1858 views) | | | Tasted by enjoywine on 7/23/2014 & rated 93 points: My last bottle of 6. In a great place for those who like some cut (acid). No need to comment more than previous notes from others, except to say drink em now if you like that cut and perfect balance (of course always a matter or opinion) vs waiting too long. Beautiful. Be careful as these impress a wide variety of Chard drinkers and go quick. Bought on release and properly stored. (1897 views) | | | Tasted by FandL on 5/13/2014 & rated 93 points: lots of compliments about Varner chardonnays at wedding reception. (1835 views) | | | Tasted by NapaWinePonce on 4/23/2014 & rated 96 points: Slightly sweeter and less pungent than its Amphitheatre Block sister, with more mass appeal and equal overall quality.
What gives it the edge for the extra point? I wish I knew!
Your humble wine ponce reports perfect precocious balance resulting from vanishing oak, native yeast, and barrel fermentation.
Shiny like gold broth (I would prefer a cloudy unfiltered version).
Zero tropical fruit nonsense - bouquet is austere wet flint and dry sandstone befitting its best Burg brethren.
For the record, it's from the same vineyard but a different block as the Amphitheatre. The differentiation speaks to the skill of the vintner, and as we all [should] know Varner's is among the best in the world.
A sconce of butter, smidgin of toast, and scintillate of acid provide a royal escort for the muscular Queen of Santa Cruz Mountain fruit (Pinot being the effete King).
This is a wine to sip, ponder, and sip again. Only a fool with pair with anything less subtle than plain baguette, raw almond, and samosa with nectarine/quince/golden raisin chutney. (1724 views) | | | Tasted by walkerjfw on 11/22/2013 & rated 92 points: At our house, dinner with Gary/Danielle, Jimmy/Mary, Rusty/Sharon...
Second wine tasted for the evening. French in style, version of a Calif white burgundy. Medium/light gold color - great clarity. Citrus, lemon, oak, marzipan on the nose. Palate repeats with vanilla, apples, pear. Oak is there bit not overpowering.
Great acidity and fruit, suspect the acidity will balance more with age. I think this is drinking great right now, but will probably improve with age (1705 views) | | | Tasted by BMG Wine on 10/12/2013 & rated 92 points: Wow. (1709 views) | | | Tasted by CamWheeler on 3/14/2013 & rated 90 points: USA Cult and Wines of Interest (Sydney, Australia): Smoky oak, lemon, chalk and some estery banana style character on the nose. The palate is well proportioned, though the oak influence is still prominent at this stage of its life. Has the structure to give it good potential to improve. (2781 views) | | | Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 2/4/2013 & rated 93 points: Light lemon yellow color; appealing, mineral, tart lemon nose; tasty, poised, ripe lemon, mineral palate; medium-plus finish (1067 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (9/30/2013)
(Varner, Home Block Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains White) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, California's Central Coast: Better than Ever (Aug 2012)
(Varner Chardonnay Home Block Santa Cruz Mountains) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JancisRobinson.com and Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Varner Producer websiteChardonnay The Chardonnay GrapeUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Santa Cruz Mountains Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association | Wikipedia
Once referred to by wine writers as the Chaine d'Or -- or "golden chain" -- the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA sits above Silicon Valley, running along the craggy range next to the Pacific on some of the prettiest parts of Northern California. The area supports more than 75 wineries, despite being limited by geography and high land prices.
In 1981 the Santa Cruz Mountains Viticultural Appellation became federally recognized, one of the first American viticultural areas to be defined by geophysical and climatic factors. The appellation encompasses the Santa Cruz Mountain range, from Half Moon Bay in the north, to Mount Madonna in the south. The east and west boundaries are defined by elevation, extending down to 800 feet in the east and 400 feet in the west. |
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