Great QPR. Nice balance of acidity and oakiness (indeed, hard to pull off) that makes for a complex experience. Noteworthy for the melony qualities in the fruit mid-palate. Stands out as a value Chard.
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Aroma of lemon zest and faint smokiness. On the palate, citrus, apple and a delicious creamy note on the midpalate, before finishing off with zingy, lemony acidity.
A beautiful chardonnay that is a ridiculous value. Can be a stand-in for white Burg when pairing with lobster dishes. Had a lobster roll with it, also lobster mac and cheese. Also fantastic with a turkey pot pie.
A handy wine to have around.
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Lemon, smoke, flint, almond, hints of pineapple actually emerged on day two. Lemon, blood orange, almond, spice on the palate, with a vibrant citrus tinged finish of medium length. Medium body with ample acidity make this a wonderful QPR and a wine I'd be happy to drink any time.
Quite pale yellow color. Very light on the nose—some fruit flavors of melon, peach. On the tongue a the fruitiness of a tart peach jumps out. Perhaps some earthiness. Very light touch on the oak—no buttery vanilla in this one--makes me wonder if it even was oaked. Very light in body. That and refreshing tartness makes this one a very good summer sipper.
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Pop and pour, consumed over next 90 minutes. Nicely balanced melange of citrus, pear, wood spice, glycerine and acid with good intensity in a tastefully restrained package.
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the nose suggests well targeted acidity. damn fine acid on the palate. barrel ferment and barrel age. doesn't come across overdone in either respect. just a hint of circus peanut and citrus.
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The most striking thing about this wine is the palate presence. The wine is almost clear just the faintest pale yellow/gold. But the palate is incredibly silky with a great weight without the slightest hint of heaviness. Lemon, lemon peel and some ginger. Perfectly touched by oak for an old world sensibility.
Nose- lemon zest, lemon curd, getting an "earthy" smell on the nose, not sure how to describe it. It's a cooked sour smell. Almost like you are cooking up a jam, like a hot fruit filling. There is something sweet on nose as well. Nose is medium. A little grassy. Definitely alcohol burn on the eyes. I'm going with smells like those lemon curd squares, with the confectioners sugar on top.
Palette - lemon, pepper, actually get lemon pepper spice. Minerality, very good pop of acidity, tastes fresh and clean. Finish is medium plus. Nice balance in the palette and a silky finish.
This is a very nice Chard. A good one to serve people who claim they don't like Chard. Not your typical expression of a Calif chard. No oakiness. Santa Barbara is a wonderful wine region, and this is a fine example.
Beautiful lemon peal and sea breeze nose, silky lemon citrus, apple and pear on the palate. Rocking acidity, what a nice bottle for $18 i'm sold. Found in every grocery store in California.
Light yellow with a green tint. Bright, vibrant citrus nose. This wine is crisp and focused with a pear and lemon palate. It is sleek and clean. There is hardly any oak. The racy acidity carries this wine through the mid-palate to its finish. A great chardonnay.
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I defer to DavidZ on WineBerserkers: “I wrote down "absolutely classic" and underlined it twice. This has the nose of the night; cool lemon, menthol, flowers, just a touch of oak spice. Unlike the other wines, this is impossible to place as new school or old school. The fruit on the palate is just textbook; lemon curd, apple. It's a touch creamy, it has just the right amount of extraction, yet the acid cuts through it perfectly and unlike some of the other bottles it improves with air as it has enough acid to stand up to it. Bravo. Moral of the story tonight is to never bet against Jim Clendenen.”
Second bottle: just as good.
third bottle 8/30/18: Still gorgeous. Doesn't seem to have evolved much despite three years in the cellar--on a plateau, I presume. Second crack at this, on the next night, with grilled hake. Still just as gorgeous! This is a world-class wine, Chardonnay at it's best! Just love it.
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California Chardonnays, Blind (Chez John Morris): Creamy green apple and honeydew, showing some oak, more extract and concentration here than most of the others, nice chalkiness. Had enough richness to stand up to cheese. This is very good wine and incredible QPR at $20. I ranked 2/8.
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Medium straw yellow. Pleasant nose of rock fruits and citrus. Tart citrus flavor leaning towards grapefruit with unusual oak elements of butter and leather.
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Shows nice restraint with aromas of citrus blossom, white peach and mineral. It has good intensity of citrus fruit in the mouth with a strong minerally spine and reasonable flesh. The finish is bright and clean, crackling with minerally acidity.
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11/18/2017 - JonnyG wrote: 86 Points
Pear and lemon notes with good acidity. Dinged a few points for what I perceived to be prominent RS that made the wine cloying on the finish.
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12/3/2016 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine:
Light colored, lovely elegant nose, in the mouth crisp, well balanced, like the style
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10/8/2016 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
As in our prior note, we are finding this a bit lacking in acidity, and richer / more fatty than prior vintages. Consistent notes over three nights.
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6/5/2016 - rsbeck wrote: 90 Points
Pop and pour, drinking well, consistent performer.
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5/23/2016 - rsbeck wrote: 90 Points
Pop and pour, developing nicely, excellent QPR.
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3/13/2016 - tarheel17 Likes this wine:
nicely balanced, Chris found it too oaky, but I liked it.
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3/6/2016 - FLI Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great QPR. Nice balance of acidity and oakiness (indeed, hard to pull off) that makes for a complex experience. Noteworthy for the melony qualities in the fruit mid-palate. Stands out as a value Chard.
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11/30/2015 - rsbeck wrote: 90 Points
Pop and pour, similar to previous notes.
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11/29/2015 - Birorganic Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice balanced good value chard. I paid $19. Opened up after an hour and was much better. I suggest decanting if drinking in the short term.
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10/28/2015 - CondorKhan wrote: 91 Points
Aroma of lemon zest and faint smokiness. On the palate, citrus, apple and a delicious creamy note on the midpalate, before finishing off with zingy, lemony acidity.
A beautiful chardonnay that is a ridiculous value. Can be a stand-in for white Burg when pairing with lobster dishes. Had a lobster roll with it, also lobster mac and cheese. Also fantastic with a turkey pot pie.
A handy wine to have around.
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10/2/2015 - paydon9 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Lemon, smoke, flint, almond, hints of pineapple actually emerged on day two. Lemon, blood orange, almond, spice on the palate, with a vibrant citrus tinged finish of medium length. Medium body with ample acidity make this a wonderful QPR and a wine I'd be happy to drink any time.
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9/18/2015 - Bakerbd Likes this wine: 91 Points
This was really nice, med bodied, lemon and mineral, med + acid. Spectacular QPR
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8/5/2015 - EMark Likes this wine:
Quite pale yellow color. Very light on the nose—some fruit flavors of melon, peach. On the tongue a the fruitiness of a tart peach jumps out. Perhaps some earthiness. Very light touch on the oak—no buttery vanilla in this one--makes me wonder if it even was oaked. Very light in body. That and refreshing tartness makes this one a very good summer sipper.
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8/2/2015 - rsbeck wrote: 90 Points
Pop and pour, consumed over next 90 minutes. Nicely balanced melange of citrus, pear, wood spice, glycerine and acid with good intensity in a tastefully restrained package.
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7/24/2015 - nzinkgraf wrote:
the nose suggests well targeted acidity. damn fine acid on the palate. barrel ferment and barrel age. doesn't come across overdone in either respect. just a hint of circus peanut and citrus.
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5/16/2015 - ScottGoodwin Likes this wine: 91 Points
The most striking thing about this wine is the palate presence. The wine is almost clear just the faintest pale yellow/gold. But the palate is incredibly silky with a great weight without the slightest hint of heaviness. Lemon, lemon peel and some ginger. Perfectly touched by oak for an old world sensibility.
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4/26/2015 - Ellen5181 Likes this wine: 90 Points
appearance - clear, light, gold.
Nose- lemon zest, lemon curd, getting an "earthy" smell on the nose, not sure how to describe it. It's a cooked sour smell. Almost like you are cooking up a jam, like a hot fruit filling. There is something sweet on nose as well. Nose is medium. A little grassy. Definitely alcohol burn on the eyes. I'm going with smells like those lemon curd squares, with the confectioners sugar on top.
Palette - lemon, pepper, actually get lemon pepper spice. Minerality, very good pop of acidity, tastes fresh and clean. Finish is medium plus. Nice balance in the palette and a silky finish.
This is a very nice Chard. A good one to serve people who claim they don't like Chard. Not your typical expression of a Calif chard. No oakiness. Santa Barbara is a wonderful wine region, and this is a fine example.
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4/23/2015 - scott w Likes this wine: 90 Points
Beautiful lemon peal and sea breeze nose, silky lemon citrus, apple and pear on the palate. Rocking acidity, what a nice bottle for $18 i'm sold. Found in every grocery store in California.
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4/11/2015 - socalwinenerd Likes this wine: 91 Points
Light yellow with a green tint. Bright, vibrant citrus nose. This wine is crisp and focused with a pear and lemon palate. It is sleek and clean. There is hardly any oak. The racy acidity carries this wine through the mid-palate to its finish. A great chardonnay.
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4/1/2015 - Peter Kleban Likes this wine:
***
I defer to DavidZ on WineBerserkers:
“I wrote down "absolutely classic" and underlined it twice. This has the nose of the night; cool lemon, menthol, flowers, just a touch of oak spice. Unlike the other wines, this is impossible to place as new school or old school. The fruit on the palate is just textbook; lemon curd, apple. It's a touch creamy, it has just the right amount of extraction, yet the acid cuts through it perfectly and unlike some of the other bottles it improves with air as it has enough acid to stand up to it. Bravo. Moral of the story tonight is to never bet against Jim Clendenen.”
Second bottle: just as good.
third bottle 8/30/18:
Still gorgeous. Doesn't seem to have evolved much despite three years in the cellar--on a plateau, I presume. Second crack at this, on the next night, with grilled hake. Still just as gorgeous! This is a world-class wine, Chardonnay at it's best! Just love it.
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4/1/2015 - coremill wrote: 90 Points
California Chardonnays, Blind (Chez John Morris): Creamy green apple and honeydew, showing some oak, more extract and concentration here than most of the others, nice chalkiness. Had enough richness to stand up to cheese. This is very good wine and incredible QPR at $20. I ranked 2/8.
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3/30/2015 - Lee Fining wrote: 87 Points
Medium straw yellow. Pleasant nose of rock fruits and citrus. Tart citrus flavor leaning towards grapefruit with unusual oak elements of butter and leather.
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3/16/2015 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Shows nice restraint with aromas of citrus blossom, white peach and mineral. It has good intensity of citrus fruit in the mouth with a strong minerally spine and reasonable flesh. The finish is bright and clean, crackling with minerally acidity.
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3/10/2015 - alimack Likes this wine: 85 Points
Crisp and fruity but doesn't linger on the palate
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2/20/2015 - wadcorp Likes this wine: 89 Points
Great, crisp acidity. Moderate oak. Notes of stone fruit & faint citrus. Good mouthfeel. Short finish. Drink now.
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12/30/2014 - Deux Chevaux Likes this wine:
A bit richer than the 12? Still, with good acidity.
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