PnP, chilled. Initial impressions were: lots of fruit (stone and green apple), good balancing acidity, touches of minerality, spice and oak. Really pleasing bottle of chardonnay. Worthy of a 92 rating. However, at about 65% through the bottle (and meal) the fruit faded, the acidity became bothersome, and the oak and spice ramped up. No rating. So, past its prime and heading downhill fast. Probably held up through 2017 or so. Drink NOW.
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Higher in acidity than we like, this offered some nice seashell, Meyer lemon and grapefruit pith notes. Ultimately, however, it comes across as disjointed and difficult to match with food because of its tart nature and lack of fruit in mid-palate. Perhaps we held this in the cellar too long. (= Pass)
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Tasted alongside the 2010 B-C Mount Carmel at M's b-day dinner. Surpassed the Mt. Carmel in terms of complexity and purity. Viscous mineral notes kissed by tangerine and grapefruit rind with a seashell and sea air finish. (Side note: Like other B-C offerings we've collected over the years, comparing this with previous tasting notes shows considerable bottle variation, in spite of purchase at the same time and cellar storage since release.) Can't imagine this improving. Drink now. Delicious. (= Worth seeking out)
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Approaching OTH status. More maderized than at last tasting, and its food friendliness has left the building. More a good memory of better days than one you'd like to pop with a meal. Drink up. (= Pass)
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Had this at Anson in Charleston SC along with grilled flounder and hoppin john. As others have mentioned, very chablis-like...actually like a borderline OTH chablis. Drink these up
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Dinner with H and Kens on the patio in the rain. Straw hued with a generous necklace. Tight and unyielding in the bouquet. More generous on the palate with lime zest, grapefruit and minerals. Light butterscotch and creamy notes in the finish, with more minerals. Great purity. A better food wine than sipper. We poured this alongside grilled shrimp. In the low 90s, if I were still rating wines.
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Rich gold color. Very nice savory aromas of mushroom, wheatstraw and a gunflint minerality that's accented by hints of lime zest and white floral notes. That earthiness carries over into the palate, with the lime and red/green apple and spice notes coming out a little more cleanly. Well balanced acid and ripeness. Juicy and mouthwatering on the palate, with some polish through the middle and a lingering finish. Very nice, and great QPR.
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Nose of apricots, hay & smoke / burnt sulfur? Full bodied, lush with a residual sweetness and long developing chewey finish. Maybe not my fav style but excellent and complex.
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Nose of apricots, pear and toasted straw/hay. Rich mouthfeel, more full-bodied than I remember or prefer. Apricots, pears and oak-rich (but not butter) with bright acidic driven notes saving it from being big and clunky. Long finish. Very well made even if not my fav Chardonnay.
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Nose had strong citric and crisp apple smell. Wine was a bit acidic for my taste, unfortunately the wine didn't open up as nicely as I would have liked. Nice yellow color with a hint of green.
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Either the first bottle was a case of bottle shock or served too warm but this bottle (and a second following) tasted much more integrated and was a pleasure to drink. Light gold with green highlights. Supple with notes of lemon, melon and spicy oak.
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Bright light gold with green highlights. There's a funky, leesy, soft cheese aroma you sometimes get with aged chablis along with a resiny oak note. I like the funk because it adds complexity but not sure if that resin note will fully resolve itself in the wine in time. Still, a nicely drinkable, concentrated, high acid wine with strong mid palate and finishing notes of lemon pith.
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A lovely elegant effort from star winemaker Greg Brewer. The fruit component in this wine is very nice with several hints of increasing complexity - given the possibility to age. The palate is beautiful and continues to tell the same elegant story as the nose. Oak treatment is very gentle, or at least makes a gentle impression. This is for sure a nice wine which would make a perfect companion to food.
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Day 2 - Central Coast Tastings (Central Coast, CA): A really nice chardonnay. Super fresh and precise with lots of lemons and limes. The mineral aspect wasn't too high, but it was still taut and energetic. Yum.
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Lemon tartness and slightly bitter oak detract somewhat from an otherwise well-made, medium-weight chardonnay. Comes across as closed today. A good but not great wine that may just need more time.
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Bright and energetic. Tart lemon and orange with an herbal streak and candied ginger. Good focus on the lemony minerally med length finish. Clean, well made chard but a bit tart for my taste.
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Nose of melon, pear, grass, and butter. Beautiful on the palate, not over oaked at all. Orange and lemon up front, that persists through the long finish.
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Straw yellow and lite in the glass. Citrus blossom, lemon oil and sage on the nose. Med-lite body and super tart with grapefruit, lemon, grass, herbs, apple and stone fruit on the palate. Precisely focused, finessed power and balanced with pithy edges all the way thru the long finish. God I love this wine.
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Enjoyed the wine quite a bit. Beautiful deep golden color, and much more robust than so many of today's Chards that taste more like Savingnon Blanc than Chardonnay.
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Tasting room pour- 4/20. Citrus and tropical aromas- banana & kiwi with hints of dried herb and clove. Grassy tropical fruit and lime on the palate- very bright with some opulence. Mineral notes add to the finish along with lingering fruit.
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4/6/2020 - GregBates Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very tasty. Balanced!!
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12/30/2019 - VlgJeff wrote:
PnP, chilled. Initial impressions were: lots of fruit (stone and green apple), good balancing acidity, touches of minerality, spice and oak. Really pleasing bottle of chardonnay. Worthy of a 92 rating.
However, at about 65% through the bottle (and meal) the fruit faded, the acidity became bothersome, and the oak and spice ramped up. No rating.
So, past its prime and heading downhill fast. Probably held up through 2017 or so. Drink NOW.
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9/4/2017 - jonahfactor wrote:
Higher in acidity than we like, this offered some nice seashell, Meyer lemon and grapefruit pith notes. Ultimately, however, it comes across as disjointed and difficult to match with food because of its tart nature and lack of fruit in mid-palate. Perhaps we held this in the cellar too long. (= Pass)
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12/22/2016 - tcbrown wrote: 91 Points
Lots of life left. Some acidity and lots of toasty oak and fruit.
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10/23/2016 - jonahfactor Likes this wine:
Tasted alongside the 2010 B-C Mount Carmel at M's b-day dinner. Surpassed the Mt. Carmel in terms of complexity and purity. Viscous mineral notes kissed by tangerine and grapefruit rind with a seashell and sea air finish. (Side note: Like other B-C offerings we've collected over the years, comparing this with previous tasting notes shows considerable bottle variation, in spite of purchase at the same time and cellar storage since release.) Can't imagine this improving. Drink now. Delicious. (= Worth seeking out)
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6/23/2016 - jonahfactor wrote:
Approaching OTH status. More maderized than at last tasting, and its food friendliness has left the building. More a good memory of better days than one you'd like to pop with a meal. Drink up. (= Pass)
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5/16/2016 - blaine wrote:
Had this at Anson in Charleston SC along with grilled flounder and hoppin john. As others have mentioned, very chablis-like...actually like a borderline OTH chablis. Drink these up
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4/15/2016 - MrMoose wrote: 89 Points
deep yellow, starting to show its age, honeyed w/lemon & pear....drink it up.......
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1/10/2016 - TomOfCT wrote: 91 Points
Solid Chard. Drinking well.
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8/14/2015 - Mark Brandon Likes this wine: 91 Points
More chablis-like. Saline, mineral, meyer lemon undertones... aging well, but definitely peaking. Drink 'em if you got 'em.
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8/13/2015 - andtheodor wrote: 90 Points
Lemony, saline, hefty but fresh with touch of apparent oak. Good.
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7/19/2015 - jonahfactor Likes this wine:
Dinner with H and Kens on the patio in the rain. Straw hued with a generous necklace. Tight and unyielding in the bouquet. More generous on the palate with lime zest, grapefruit and minerals. Light butterscotch and creamy notes in the finish, with more minerals. Great purity. A better food wine than sipper. We poured this alongside grilled shrimp. In the low 90s, if I were still rating wines.
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6/4/2014 - MattMauldin Likes this wine: 91 Points
Rich gold color. Very nice savory aromas of mushroom, wheatstraw and a gunflint minerality that's accented by hints of lime zest and white floral notes. That earthiness carries over into the palate, with the lime and red/green apple and spice notes coming out a little more cleanly. Well balanced acid and ripeness. Juicy and mouthwatering on the palate, with some polish through the middle and a lingering finish. Very nice, and great QPR.
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6/2/2014 - gf2182 Likes this wine: 88 Points
Go to California Chardonnay. Balanced, straight forward, Not oaky; nice acidity.
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5/22/2014 - tbyrne49 wrote:
Great go to California Chardonnay. Not too oaky; good balance of fruit and acidity.
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4/25/2014 - Eags25 wrote: 90 Points
Nose of apricots, hay & smoke / burnt sulfur? Full bodied, lush with a residual sweetness and long developing chewey finish. Maybe not my fav style but excellent and complex.
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3/29/2014 - Eags25 wrote: 90 Points
Nose of apricots, pear and toasted straw/hay. Rich mouthfeel, more full-bodied than I remember or prefer. Apricots, pears and oak-rich (but not butter) with bright acidic driven notes saving it from being big and clunky. Long finish. Very well made even if not my fav Chardonnay.
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3/15/2014 - justlaz wrote: 89 Points
Nose had strong citric and crisp apple smell. Wine was a bit acidic for my taste, unfortunately the wine didn't open up as nicely as I would have liked. Nice yellow color with a hint of green.
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2/23/2014 - jeffreylubowski Likes this wine: 90 Points
Had with petit Basque cheese. Beautiful nose. Minerals lemon citrus. My vote for best chard for the price in CA.
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2/23/2014 - flyinburrito wrote:
Either the first bottle was a case of bottle shock or served too warm but this bottle (and a second following) tasted much more integrated and was a pleasure to drink. Light gold with green highlights. Supple with notes of lemon, melon and spicy oak.
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2/21/2014 - flyinburrito wrote:
Bright light gold with green highlights. There's a funky, leesy, soft cheese aroma you sometimes get with aged chablis along with a resiny oak note. I like the funk because it adds complexity but not sure if that resin note will fully resolve itself in the wine in time. Still, a nicely drinkable, concentrated, high acid wine with strong mid palate and finishing notes of lemon pith.
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2/7/2014 - JonnyG wrote: 89 Points
A Wayward Lunch That Was Supposed to be All About Central Coast Chardonnay (Santa Ynez Kitchen, Santa Ynez, CA): Not very distinguished on this afternoon. Too much citrus and acid, without the necessary, offsetting depth of flavors. Probably an abnormal showing.
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1/16/2014 - itsallaboutwine Likes this wine:
Some funk/evolution on the nose blended with very ripe fruit and spicy oak. Similar story on the palate, with almost perfect acidity. Drink up. +++(+)
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9/2/2013 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine: 92 Points
A lovely elegant effort from star winemaker Greg Brewer. The fruit component in this wine is very nice with several hints of increasing complexity - given the possibility to age. The palate is beautiful and continues to tell the same elegant story as the nose. Oak treatment is very gentle, or at least makes a gentle impression. This is for sure a nice wine which would make a perfect companion to food.
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8/16/2013 - tooch wrote: 89 Points
Day 2 - Central Coast Tastings (Central Coast, CA): A really nice chardonnay. Super fresh and precise with lots of lemons and limes. The mineral aspect wasn't too high, but it was still taut and energetic. Yum.
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8/12/2013 - Frank Murray III Likes this wine:
Lemon zest, mango, orange and zippy acidity to drive the base of the wine. I enjoyed the leaner sense here.
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7/19/2013 - Fiorano wrote: 89 Points
Lemon tartness and slightly bitter oak detract somewhat from an otherwise well-made, medium-weight chardonnay. Comes across as closed today. A good but not great wine that may just need more time.
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7/8/2013 - Isalasdad wrote: 90 Points
My last bottle of this very good Chardonnay. Paired it with my seafood linguini.
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6/24/2013 - Redguy wrote:
Bright and energetic. Tart lemon and orange with an herbal streak and candied ginger. Good focus on the lemony minerally med length finish. Clean, well made chard but a bit tart for my taste.
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5/26/2013 - gmbdds wrote: 90 Points
Fresh and vibrant with lots of citrus notes. There is a toast and richness to it but not overdone or buttery. Recommended.
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4/27/2013 - La Peste Likes this wine: 89 Points
Nose of melon, pear, grass, and butter. Beautiful on the palate, not over oaked at all. Orange and lemon up front, that persists through the long finish.
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4/22/2013 - christophee Likes this wine: 91 Points
Straw yellow and lite in the glass. Citrus blossom, lemon oil and sage on the nose. Med-lite body and super tart with grapefruit, lemon, grass, herbs, apple and stone fruit on the palate. Precisely focused, finessed power and balanced with pithy edges all the way thru the long finish. God I love this wine.
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4/14/2013 - BrunelloBob wrote:
Right in Beautiful Wife's wheelhouse. I generally refuse to score such monstrosities...
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4/11/2013 - arthrovine wrote: 92 Points
Very nice expression of the AVAs. Round, slightly creamy and hot. Firm acids. Neutral oak. An excellent safe purchase on a restaurant's list
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12/2/2012 - SMZ wrote: 91 Points
Enjoyed the wine quite a bit. Beautiful deep golden color, and much more robust than so many of today's Chards that taste more like Savingnon Blanc than Chardonnay.
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11/3/2012 - puppetclause wrote:
N: Floral, ripe apple, light grapefruit, with cut grass.
P: Grapefruit, tart melon rind, vanilla, ginger, citrus zest, kiwi.
F: Clean, balanced.
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4/22/2012 - MattMauldin wrote: 90 Points
Tasting room pour- 4/20. Citrus and tropical aromas- banana & kiwi with hints of dried herb and clove. Grassy tropical fruit and lime on the palate- very bright with some opulence. Mineral notes add to the finish along with lingering fruit.
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