May 30, 2023 - Also a recent auction purchase well past its peak. Still drinking reasonably well, but too much honeycomb lacking brightness.
September 25, 2022 - Straw yellow. Medium to full bodied. Orange peel, peach.
May 20, 2022 - Another stellar bottle of 2010 RM Thieriot Chardonnay! This bottle showed a touch more age than the bottle two weeks ago. Color of gold, full-bodied. Still the beam of acidity but age has the flavors a bit more toward toasty lemon meringue than citrus lemon. I suspect this bottle (also purchased via online auction) didn’t have quite as cold of a life in storage as the prior bottle. That’s nitpicking though as this was still a dynamite bottle.
May 10, 2022 - Simply awesome. This could easily be slipped into a 2010 Chablis tasting and fool more than a few tasters (though the uptick in sweetness this bottle had might hint at California for some). Color was gold; full bodied and silky; delectable flavors of lemon/lime with a meringue overlay. An acidic/tart beam made this more interesting and mouth-watering (and Chablis-like). Day two: even better; lemon flavor even more vibrant (less meringue). I don’t think I’ve ever had a California chardonnay that tasted like this.
March 6, 2022 - This has aged very gracefully. Still had fruit and chardonnay character, but some tertiary flavors too.
February 15, 2022 - The brightness of the lemon curd and sweetness of the softened tropical fruits really pair well together on the nose and palate. Age has unlocked a lot in this wine, and even 12 years in, I didn't feel it was past peak at all.
A deep minerality runs throughout the palate and creates a solid backbone for all the flavors to come together nicely. The buttery finish is not overwhelming, and provides the effect of adding a knob of butter to a light dish. The tension between the vibrant acidity and brown sugary sweetness from the oak was great. A ton of flavor balanced in a way that isn't overwhelming.
Drank the bottle with chicken oysters, egg and grilled chicken thigh - paired well with all three.
February 10, 2022 - First one I had had nice notes of baked apple citrus and meringue pie. Almost a viscous mouth coating feel without heaviness of an old Chardonnay. Mineral driven, crushed stones as one vegetal notes
Second one I donated to charity.
November 30, 2021 - Very mature but still had some fruit. Drink up and enjoy!
November 25, 2021 - Very well integrated with oak, almost fatty in mouthfeel. Good minerals, almost reminds me of good aged white burgundy, but more tight in how it's integrated. Wish the fruit was more pronounced, but there's still enough semblance of it, as well as enough acidity to carry it through. Very good wine.
October 2, 2021 - Mature apple and baked apple with earth, sweet spice, good richness. And still maintaining reasonable brightness. Darker color and more advanced vs great bottles tasted in 2020. But those great bottles were purchased on release, and tonight’s was a recent auction purchase.