July 4, 2019 - Getting to be a bit past prime, oak has diminshed with age but butter and vanilla still shows. Delicate flavor with lemon, stonefruit, honey and subtle minerality.
Imagine Burgandy juice but made in California.
July 28, 2017 - Underneath the 10,000% new oak there really is a fine wine. And while there's just enough acid and minerality to buttress that heavy load of butter and vanilla i still think it's a shame that the fruit should be hidden so. That said, it has aged very well and is drinking beautifully.
July 28, 2017 - This wine is still going strong and probably better than my last bottle in 2011. Medium golden yellow color with a nose of flint, lemon curd, apricot and minerals. Nice depth and richness on the palate, yet not flabby or flat. On the palate I get buttery lemon and some tropical fruits with a touch of vanilla and white peach on the finish with a decent dose of acidity as well. Impressively long aftertaste that lasted more than a minute. Much better than I expected quite frankly. It went perfectly with my sautéed striped bass filet.
February 26, 2017 - While I didn't enjoy this on release, time has given it extra dimension that makes it shine with the right foods (salmon). There's a sweetness to it that almost pushes it to the off-dry spectrum, but this is the natural result of a warm climate. Thankfully it is still under 14%, and retains a only a small bit of acid but a decent bit of minerals. Will likely continue to improve for another couple of years.
June 25, 2016 - Pale greenish yellow colour. Restrained nose when opened. Buttery, honeyed, complex palate with apple, sweet pineapple and other tropical fruit flavours integrated with subtle spice and gentle citrus acidity that persisted on the lips. Some dusty oak at first on the late palate but this seemed to soften and a hint of ginger emerged with time. The wine opened nicely in the glass and showed its class. The palate was long and the flavours were very well integrated. Good with food (cold salmon) and showed orange citrus notes later.
A very attractive and elegant wine and an improvement on the excellent standard Catena Chardonnay (but perhaps not quite as dramatic a step up as I expected). I like my quality Chardonnay to develop in bottle and am happy to enjoy the mature characteristics of a wine like this, even at the loss of a little youthful freshness.
December 7, 2014 - Seems the same as my last go around. This stuff is good. Pale golden yellow. Rich aromas of nectarine, lemon, papaya and cinnamon. Great weight and presence on the palate. White and yellow fruits are present along with some simmering spice and good acidic grip. Clearly not Burgundian but also not Californian. It is really is its own thing. I have had both French and American chardonnays that hit some similar notes but this is not trying to be either. Very good stuff and continuing to drink well.
June 24, 2014 - Tropical fruits, nuts and some butter. A bit sweet on the palate, maybe the acidity's a bit too low.
May 7, 2014 - A little on the unbalanced sweet side.
March 12, 2014 - Similiar to last note, a very good white, drink now. www.winelx.com
February 18, 2014 - Excellent chardonnay wine with medium to full body, well balanced oak. Enjoyed with a light cajun spiced shrimp and lobster dish with rice.