Community Tasting Note

sfwinelover1 Likes this wine:

Saturday, July 23, 2022 - One off ($35) from Napa wine brokerage site #1, recent purchase. On the nose and palate, medium+ notes of sweet orange, Meyer lemon, green apples, white melon, honeycomb and rocky minerality. Medium gold, medium bodied, fullish legs. Still potent acidity, no heat. Excellent intensity, VG+ persistence, VG persistence. I tend to like my better CA chards, which DG consistently makes, most in the 5-8 year age range, and this is likely the oldest one of theirs I had, but with their consistence crispness, vibrant acidity and relatively low abv, this seemed a good candidate for longevity, and it generally was. I didn’t get the variation others have based on serving temperature—I tend to like my chards more at wine fridge than room temperature—and while the fruit was a bit less fulsome on night 2 than night 1, the notes off the pour were pretty similar to after various stages of aeration. In no way ungenerous and with just a soupçon of oak and creaminess, there’s no vanilla nor butter in sight, and this chard presents as rigorous, lean and taut, with wonderful savoriness balancing the sweeter fruit notes. Equally good as a standalone as with broiled salmon and veggies. I’ve spoken fondly of DG in other notes, and different bottlings across different vintages have never failed to meet or exceed expectations. Good if slightly uninspiring at retail—the winery is currently selling this through its library program for $68–when you can find these either in the secondary market or on discount sites, they’re super compelling buys which should appeal to a wide variety of palates. And as an aside, I’ve been fortunate to get to know some of the people at the winery through tasting events and visits over the years, and you’d have a hard time finding a nicer, more knowledgeable and giving group. If I had more, I’d drink it sooner than later, but not necessarily tomorrow. 93-94, with intangibles pushing it to the higher score. Highly recommended around what I paid.

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