This is the best Chardonnay I have had; very enjoyable! I usually drink red wine but will look for this in the future, as it does not taste like the typical chardonnay. Paired well with scallops and pasta.
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For starters, a rich floral nose. The finish was long and full flavored. We paired this with tuna loin in a buttery caper sauce and it worked deliciously. Throughout our dinner, what struck me the most was that the Red Shoulder tasted more like the premier cru white burgundy we had a couple nights ago than a Napa chardonnay. The 2015 was medium bodied, very balanced and a light touch of oak, which is probably why I thought of France instead of California - even though I knew it was from Napa. At five years old, this may well continue to improve with a one of two more years in my cellar. I have two bottles left, so I'm looking forward to tasting its progress over the next 3 or 4 years.
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Showing really well and not showing its age. Not discolored at all. Great nose with apple, honeydew, pear and light minerally. Similar flavors with a touch of oak. Smooth finish with minerality showing up.
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Interesting Chardonnay. Pale gold color. Definitely getting peaches and apricots, and a little vanilla and popcorn. Not heavy, not too buttery and not oaky. Good acidity but wish it had a little more zest. Very good and enjoyable.
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It opened a little harsh but just a short amount of decanting revealed wonderful and complex flavor. Lots of fruit but hints of chocolate and (dare I say) leather paired nicely with prime rib.
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The only difference between this bottle and the one I drank last week was that I drank the 2016 inbetween which was a better wine. The 2015 has a nice nose of white flowers and peach. The palate was peach, white plums and a hint of vanilla. The finish was moderate. It was served with our dinner of braised swordfish with olives and capers.
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For our Thursday night quaratine dinner of baked flounder with a sauce of dijon mustard and thyme I picked this bottle from the wine fridge. A nice nose of white flowers and peach. The palate was peach, white plums and a hint of vanilla. The finish was moderate. Went well with the dinner.
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Happy Birthday to my wife. Peach, mineral, stone fruit, Buttery on the palate at first, before trending to mineral Crisp acidity has a taughtness. Me - 91, Wife - 92
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Outstanding Chardonnay. It displays a fragrant, floral quality to the honeydew, orchard fruit, and spice aromas. The palate is smooth, textural, and buoyant, and exudes a tensile elegance between crisp and buttery elements. Spicy oak serves notice on the bright, crunchy, succulent finish. Flat out gorgeous.
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Not necessary a very elegant wine but was on the spot. Pasta with mushrooms and buratta made a great pairing. Easy to drink and a basket full of fruits in the palate. Good stuff, drink it in wide burgundy glasses over the next two years.
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I'm not a connoisseur of white wine but I can tell the difference between trash and good juice, and this is good juice. It's reminiscent of the kistler that I very much enjoyed recently that rings in about twice the price. Lots of pleasant stone fruits and delicious juiciness with some mild caramel or butter type notes. concentrated and not too light, but the alcohol for being 14.9% is huge for a chardonnay but is not all too present, so fairly balance IMO. pretty good deal if one can acquire this somewhere in the $35-40 range, compared to some of these pricier chardonnay peers.
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A high voltage Napa Chardonnay. On nose: hints of fresh baked bread , ripe bannanas and toasted walnuts. On palate: a WHOLE other world : minerals , vanilla infused oak , apple , citrus and creme brulee...NOT a seafood wine....would work well with roast chicken or pork tenderloin.....the alcohol level ( 14.9%)! Drags down the rating ....a lot of heat in the finish...no one would mistake this for white Burgundy ....overpriced at $69.00 a bottle in Vancouver , Canada.
Brilliant gold in color, nose of lemon and fresh lilac. Medium weight but full-bodied in mouth, lemon zest and pineapple with heavy notes of vanilla and brioche, touch of nutmeg on long finish. Try again in 3 years as flavors integrate and smooth out.
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Deep yellow with a touch of silver at the rim. On the nose lime peel, pear and peach provide the opening salvo while pineapple shows a tropical edge. Jasmine and vanilla come forth with a little coaxing. On the palate, lime greets you with a pleasing acidity followed by pear and peach on the mid-palate. The wine finishes with pineapple and a whisper of vanilla and jasmine. While this is a medium+ body wine, I was expecting it to be a little more palate coating. A well made wine.
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I liked this. My wife liked it a little, but less than our usual everyday Chardonnay that costs half the price. Not likely to buy again, though I'd drink it myself if someone else were serving.
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This is a powerful and intense Chardonnay marked by grilled citrus, pineapple, and pear notes with a long lightly smoky finish. The wine possesses great bracing acidity to balance the ripe California fruit.
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Had one last fall, which fell short. This bottle was much better, crisp, clean, yet enough malo to hold it together. A great mouth feel thru to the finish. Drink now-2020
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Cata ASVASU Otro que era demasiado joven. Eso sí esperaba el típico vino voluminoso/maderoso californiano y lo cierto es que tiene una excelente definición. De color amarillo limón en nariz presenta toques maduros, recuerdos a serrín de roble, matices avainillados, vainilla y un fondo de crema de limón. En boca la entrad aes muy buena, la madera es más evidente, matices avainillados, con peso de fruta, muy buena acidez, largo y estructurado. Ligeras sensaciones secantes.
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This round and sweet wine tastes like an unflattering caricature of a modern CA Chardonnay - ripe, oaky, and sugary, it was a real disappointment for me. I like my fruit and ripeness as much as the next Californian - and I'd been looking forward to trying this wine - but this was just too syrupy for me.
Light yellow in color, full in body, nose of grapefruit, popcorn, and caramel. Tastes of lemon curd, mango, margarine, and vanilla, with a thick and oily finish. Give this at least an hour of air, in order to let some of the sugar blow off. (When I first opened it, it reminded me of a Merry Edwards Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc I had a few weeks ago - i.e., a dessert wine.) 14.9% alcohol. I'd wait another 6-12 months, in order to see if it calms down a bit.
I tasted the Shafer on the same night as a 2015 Morlet Princesse Chardonnay, which was utter class compared to this concoction. I agree with csimm1161 that this has a Viognier-like profile, especially in its sweetness and oiliness. I am a fan of Shafer - and of big modern Chardonnay (e.g., Aubert, Morlet) - which was why this was such a surprise. The price isn't bad, but the wine isn't very good, at least to me.
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Opened 2 bottles, but not decanted for over 30 minutes before pouring at a NYC Steakhouse, I had this with my wine group. Enjoyed by everyone. More acidic than buttery. Not readily identifiable as a Napa Chardonnay. I should have bought more.
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Maybe it is just my taste/palate, but this was not a good wine. Way too high of alcohol and so much new French oak that it was offensive. Picked as a blind for my tasting group to showcase different winemaking techniques across Chardonnay.
I had 2 bottles of this over the weekend, and enjoyed them both. The 2nd bottle was tasted blind with my wine group, and no one ID'd it as a Napa Chard. A full bodied wine, that is not an overpowering oak/fruit bomb. Nice acidity. Long finish.
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Ultimately this finished a little linear for me, lacking a lot of the totality of complexity from beginning to end. 89-91+ points at the moment. Seems to need time. Some decent flavors trying to push through, but it’s overall delivery was stunted. Try again in 6-8+ months to see if it develops a less irksome personality.
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N: Reminiscent of butter? (but not QUITE), poss vanilla, all atop lemons, but with an elegance? Spice with addtl swirling?
P: M, poss MF, body; RNDISH entry with NICE oak/frt met by some firming structure which slowly, SEAMLESSLY morphs into a LONG, beautifully balanced, very, VERY slightly tangy, almost swtish finish with only the barest TRACE of bitterness, that bitterness being quite notable first thing on the front P. Classically made (almost Meursault-like?), this needs/DESERVES into early '19, then drinking for poss 3 yrs more. My EXC-. 94 pts WE, 93+ FredSwan.wine, 93 WS, & 91 Connoisseurs' Guide. [Only 1 other current listing on wine-searcher's HUGE listing beats this vendor's $45.95!]
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golden color. prominent vanilla/oak flavors, lightly nutty, light citrus, nice lemony tinge to the flavors. Rich and open, good for the style I think but could be polarizing. 91 pts
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just very slightly heavy on the acidity, but with a nice seafood dish, perfect. flavors of lime, vanilla, earthy soil (from the oak); smells of vanilla and lemon (as versus lime on flavor); Drink this wine between now and the next 3 years, it appears with a little more age the citrus will drop.
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Estate Tasting. From cooler Red Shoulder Ranch in Carneros: Pale yellow color with Meyer lemon on the nose along other citrus and tropical notes. The palate has fresh natural acidity and more citrus flavors. No malolactic is performed on these wines and 80/20 ratio of French oak vs. Stainless steel. Good purity and very natural feel to it, yet there is a lack of secondary flavors which keeps a notch below top tier. At $55 it faces serious competition.
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A really well balanced Chardonnay. great color, silky fresh goodness. I did not have this with food, so I can imagine that the notes would be on steroids if i did so
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Rich golden color. A gorgeous nose of lemon crème, apricot jam, baked apples, lime juice, walnut, crumb cake, some floral and salty notes thrown in there as well – wow. Full-bodied, rich and waxy with plenty of creaminess, but the acidity is so clean and refreshing. Tart lime mixes with guava, lemon curd and baked apple, backed up by complex elements of ginger, buttercream, honeyed tea, almond, chalk dust – the complexity is awesome. This wine would be heavy and way too rich, weren’t for the brisk acidity and vibrancy, so the balance is very impressive. Aged 14 months in 75% new French oak, the rest stainless steel.
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11/11/2023 - Rrhodez Likes this wine: 93 Points
Buttery!
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9/22/2023 - GoBlue2002 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still delicious and holding strong!
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4/9/2023 - GoBlue2002 wrote:
Easter wine.
Wife - happy face, 94.
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12/22/2022 - Deryck Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is the best Chardonnay I have had; very enjoyable! I usually drink red wine but will look for this in the future, as it does not taste like the typical chardonnay. Paired well with scallops and pasta.
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6/6/2021 - clutj Likes this wine: 92 Points
Delicious; still going strong, no deterioration in the bottle
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5/23/2021 - Richkniles wrote:
Good
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11/20/2020 - Labrador Likes this wine: 90 Points
Another wonderful Chardonnay from Shafer.
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10/15/2020 - Vasily Likes this wine: 94 Points
Green apple and lemon zest. Crisp and refreshing. Good with fish and next day with mushroom risotto. Complementary with Swiss and Italian cheese.
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9/1/2020 - mouton45 wrote: 92 Points
For starters, a rich floral nose. The finish was long and full flavored. We paired this with tuna loin in a buttery caper sauce and it worked deliciously. Throughout our dinner, what struck me the most was that the Red Shoulder tasted more like the premier cru white burgundy we had a couple nights ago than a Napa chardonnay. The 2015 was medium bodied, very balanced and a light touch of oak, which is probably why I thought of France instead of California - even though I knew it was from Napa. At five years old, this may well continue to improve with a one of two more years in my cellar. I have two bottles left, so I'm looking forward to tasting its progress over the next 3 or 4 years.
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8/18/2020 - gharter Likes this wine: 92 Points
Showing really well and not showing its age. Not discolored at all. Great nose with apple, honeydew, pear and light minerally. Similar flavors with a touch of oak. Smooth finish with minerality showing up.
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7/27/2020 - davergny wrote: 92 Points
Interesting Chardonnay. Pale gold color. Definitely getting peaches and apricots, and a little vanilla and popcorn. Not heavy, not too buttery and not oaky. Good acidity but wish it had a little more zest. Very good and enjoyable.
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5/10/2020 - DRYAUN Likes this wine: 92 Points
It opened a little harsh but just a short amount of decanting revealed wonderful and complex flavor. Lots of fruit but hints of chocolate and (dare I say) leather paired nicely with prime rib.
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5/7/2020 - markcic Likes this wine: 91 Points
The only difference between this bottle and the one I drank last week was that I drank the 2016 inbetween which was a better wine. The 2015 has a nice nose of white flowers and peach. The palate was peach, white plums and a hint of vanilla. The finish was moderate.
It was served with our dinner of braised swordfish with olives and capers.
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4/30/2020 - markcic Likes this wine: 91 Points
For our Thursday night quaratine dinner of baked flounder with a sauce of dijon mustard and thyme I picked this bottle from the wine fridge. A nice nose of white flowers and peach. The palate was peach, white plums and a hint of vanilla. The finish was moderate. Went well with the dinner.
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3/30/2020 - GoBlue2002 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Happy Birthday to my wife.
Peach, mineral, stone fruit,
Buttery on the palate at first, before trending to mineral
Crisp acidity has a taughtness.
Me - 91, Wife - 92
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3/21/2020 - martin_e Likes this wine: 90 Points
Opened a second bottle and liked it more than the first time around. Buttery, full-body chardonnay
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2/29/2020 - tfowler wrote:
Spectacular!!
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1/24/2020 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 92 Points
My final bottle of this vintage and I enjoyed every single one of them.
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12/4/2019 - L Wine Views Likes this wine:
Great wine
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11/10/2019 - Baron Slick wrote: 94 Points
Outstanding Chardonnay. It displays a fragrant, floral quality to the honeydew, orchard fruit, and spice aromas. The palate is smooth, textural, and buoyant, and exudes a tensile elegance between crisp and buttery elements. Spicy oak serves notice on the bright, crunchy, succulent finish. Flat out gorgeous.
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10/13/2019 - doncabernet Likes this wine: 92 Points
Not necessary a very elegant wine but was on the spot. Pasta with mushrooms and buratta made a great pairing. Easy to drink and a basket full of fruits in the palate. Good stuff, drink it in wide burgundy glasses over the next two years.
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7/21/2019 - martin_e wrote: 89 Points
Full body and a bit too heavy for my taste. Strong flavor of grapefruit is another thing I'm not a huge fan of
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6/1/2019 - Wine G Likes this wine: 92 Points
I'm not a connoisseur of white wine but I can tell the difference between trash and good juice, and this is good juice. It's reminiscent of the kistler that I very much enjoyed recently that rings in about twice the price. Lots of pleasant stone fruits and delicious juiciness with some mild caramel or butter type notes. concentrated and not too light, but the alcohol for being 14.9% is huge for a chardonnay but is not all too present, so fairly balance IMO. pretty good deal if one can acquire this somewhere in the $35-40 range, compared to some of these pricier chardonnay peers.
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4/26/2019 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 92 Points
Had this with my wine group at a NYC steakhouse. Long finish, not a lot of oak. Very enjoyable.
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4/21/2019 - Berge65 Likes this wine: 91 Points
This wine is ready to drink now. Very nice wine.
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11/25/2018 - Pontifax wrote: 90 Points
A high voltage Napa Chardonnay.
On nose: hints of fresh baked bread , ripe bannanas and toasted walnuts.
On palate: a WHOLE other world : minerals , vanilla infused oak , apple , citrus and creme brulee...NOT a seafood wine....would work well with roast chicken or pork tenderloin.....the alcohol level ( 14.9%)! Drags down the rating ....a lot of heat in the finish...no one would mistake this for white Burgundy ....overpriced at $69.00 a bottle in Vancouver , Canada.
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10/7/2018 - Winedad53 wrote: 92 Points
Brilliant gold in color, nose of lemon and fresh lilac. Medium weight but full-bodied in mouth, lemon zest and pineapple with heavy notes of vanilla and brioche, touch of nutmeg on long finish. Try again in 3 years as flavors integrate and smooth out.
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9/27/2018 - Cuellar's Cellar Likes this wine: 94 Points
I love this Chardonnay. I held this just for an extra year, and I found that fruit was ready! An elegant piece in my opinion Cheers
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9/10/2018 - SommJourney05 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Deep yellow with a touch of silver at the rim. On the nose lime peel, pear and peach provide the opening salvo while pineapple shows a tropical edge. Jasmine and vanilla come forth with a little coaxing. On the palate, lime greets you with a pleasing acidity followed by pear and peach on the mid-palate. The wine finishes with pineapple and a whisper of vanilla and jasmine. While this is a medium+ body wine, I was expecting it to be a little more palate coating. A well made wine.
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8/25/2018 - dalemosier Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very well balanced in fruit and acid, good depth of taste with nice lingering taste.
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8/16/2018 - FelineAvenger Likes this wine:
I liked this. My wife liked it a little, but less than our usual everyday Chardonnay that costs half the price. Not likely to buy again, though I'd drink it myself if someone else were serving.
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8/4/2018 - Cuellar's Cellar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Shafer makes a classic bottle of Chardonnay. This is what Napa Chardonnay is about. I could drink this daily. Cheers
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6/11/2018 - poppacork Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is a powerful and intense Chardonnay marked by grilled citrus, pineapple, and pear notes with a long lightly smoky finish. The wine possesses great bracing acidity to balance the ripe California fruit.
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6/11/2018 - wino121 wrote: 92 Points
Had one last fall, which fell short.
This bottle was much better, crisp, clean, yet enough malo to hold it together.
A great mouth feel thru to the finish.
Drink now-2020
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5/21/2018 - PacoHigon Likes this wine:
Cata ASVASU
Otro que era demasiado joven. Eso sí esperaba el típico vino voluminoso/maderoso californiano y lo cierto es que tiene una excelente definición. De color amarillo limón en nariz presenta toques maduros, recuerdos a serrín de roble, matices avainillados, vainilla y un fondo de crema de limón. En boca la entrad aes muy buena, la madera es más evidente, matices avainillados, con peso de fruta, muy buena acidez, largo y estructurado. Ligeras sensaciones secantes.
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5/8/2018 - msuwine wrote: 88 Points
This round and sweet wine tastes like an unflattering caricature of a modern CA Chardonnay - ripe, oaky, and sugary, it was a real disappointment for me. I like my fruit and ripeness as much as the next Californian - and I'd been looking forward to trying this wine - but this was just too syrupy for me.
Light yellow in color, full in body, nose of grapefruit, popcorn, and caramel. Tastes of lemon curd, mango, margarine, and vanilla, with a thick and oily finish. Give this at least an hour of air, in order to let some of the sugar blow off. (When I first opened it, it reminded me of a Merry Edwards Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc I had a few weeks ago - i.e., a dessert wine.) 14.9% alcohol. I'd wait another 6-12 months, in order to see if it calms down a bit.
I tasted the Shafer on the same night as a 2015 Morlet Princesse Chardonnay, which was utter class compared to this concoction. I agree with csimm1161 that this has a Viognier-like profile, especially in its sweetness and oiliness. I am a fan of Shafer - and of big modern Chardonnay (e.g., Aubert, Morlet) - which was why this was such a surprise. The price isn't bad, but the wine isn't very good, at least to me.
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5/3/2018 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened 2 bottles, but not decanted for over 30 minutes before pouring at a NYC Steakhouse, I had this with my wine group. Enjoyed by everyone. More acidic than buttery. Not readily identifiable as a Napa Chardonnay. I should have bought more.
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4/20/2018 - bkc1428 Does not like this wine: 78 Points
Maybe it is just my taste/palate, but this was not a good wine. Way too high of alcohol and so much new French oak that it was offensive. Picked as a blind for my tasting group to showcase different winemaking techniques across Chardonnay.
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4/1/2018 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 92 Points
I had 2 bottles of this over the weekend, and enjoyed them both. The 2nd bottle was tasted blind with my wine group, and no one ID'd it as a Napa Chard. A full bodied wine, that is not an overpowering oak/fruit bomb. Nice acidity. Long finish.
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3/30/2018 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 92 Points
Granny Smith apples, minerality, vanilla, acidity, lemon and finishes with nice balance. A-
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2/7/2018 - csimm wrote: 91 Points
3-Day Napa Cab Taste-Off: Vice Versa, B Cellars, Memento Mori, Alpha Omega, Purlieu, Janzen, Realm, Myriad, MACDONALD, Maybach, and more...; 2/7/2018-2/9/2018 (Napa): Notes of green apple, Asian pear, lemon verbena, tropical fruit, acacia, and some sea salt. The initial attack started out smooth and enveloping (characteristically as most rounded-out Nor-Cal domestic Chardonnays do), but quickly showed a fairly acidic side to it toward the finish; a little bitter on the back end, almost Viognier-esque. Somewhat biting at the back of the jaw.
Ultimately this finished a little linear for me, lacking a lot of the totality of complexity from beginning to end. 89-91+ points at the moment. Seems to need time. Some decent flavors trying to push through, but it’s overall delivery was stunted. Try again in 6-8+ months to see if it develops a less irksome personality.
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2/7/2018 - Cristal2000 wrote: 92 Points
Whirlwind Winter Tasting in the Valley; 2/7/2018-2/10/2018 (Napa Valley, CA): Lots of minerals, butter and lemon curd. Smooth and creamy, with some backend sharp acidity. Good length here and quite well made. Tasty.
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1/27/2018 - srh Likes this wine:
Winebar [4 Whts & 8 Reds] from 1/26/18 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): 14 mos on lees in 75% new FR oak barrels (Allier, Vosges) & 25% in s/s barrels; NO malolactic; 14.9% ABV
N: Reminiscent of butter? (but not QUITE), poss vanilla, all atop lemons, but with an elegance? Spice with addtl swirling?
P: M, poss MF, body; RNDISH entry with NICE oak/frt met by some firming structure which slowly, SEAMLESSLY morphs into a LONG, beautifully balanced, very, VERY slightly tangy, almost swtish finish with only the barest TRACE of bitterness, that bitterness being quite notable first thing on the front P. Classically made (almost Meursault-like?), this needs/DESERVES into early '19, then drinking for poss 3 yrs more. My EXC-. 94 pts WE, 93+ FredSwan.wine, 93 WS, & 91 Connoisseurs' Guide. [Only 1 other current listing on wine-searcher's HUGE listing beats this vendor's $45.95!]
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12/24/2017 - fred o. Likes this wine:
golden color. prominent vanilla/oak flavors, lightly nutty, light citrus, nice lemony tinge to the flavors. Rich and open, good for the style I think but could be polarizing. 91 pts
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12/4/2017 - Mortgage92 wrote: 92 Points
just very slightly heavy on the acidity, but with a nice seafood dish, perfect. flavors of lime, vanilla, earthy soil (from the oak); smells of vanilla and lemon (as versus lime on flavor); Drink this wine between now and the next 3 years, it appears with a little more age the citrus will drop.
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11/22/2017 - Cuellar's Cellar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Such a incredible Chardonnay.
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9/25/2017 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
It's big and rich and still feels like they blocked the malo. Makes it a bit unusual but nothing that can't be loved.
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8/30/2017 - Cuellar's Cellar Likes this wine: 93 Points
By far my top chardonnay for this year. Shafter knocks it out of the park with the crisp vibrate notes that come out.
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8/26/2017 - rgawlowski Likes this wine: 92 Points
Smooth, lively, balanced.
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7/19/2017 - farinas wrote: 91 Points
Estate Tasting. From cooler Red Shoulder Ranch in Carneros: Pale yellow color with Meyer lemon on the nose along other citrus and tropical notes. The palate has fresh natural acidity and more citrus flavors. No malolactic is performed on these wines and 80/20 ratio of French oak vs. Stainless steel. Good purity and very natural feel to it, yet there is a lack of secondary flavors which keeps a notch below top tier. At $55 it faces serious competition.
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7/10/2017 - Cuellar's Cellar Likes this wine: 93 Points
A really well balanced Chardonnay. great color, silky fresh goodness. I did not have this with food, so I can imagine that the notes would be on steroids if i did so
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5/14/2017 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 93 Points
Rich golden color. A gorgeous nose of lemon crème, apricot jam, baked apples, lime juice, walnut, crumb cake, some floral and salty notes thrown in there as well – wow. Full-bodied, rich and waxy with plenty of creaminess, but the acidity is so clean and refreshing. Tart lime mixes with guava, lemon curd and baked apple, backed up by complex elements of ginger, buttercream, honeyed tea, almond, chalk dust – the complexity is awesome. This wine would be heavy and way too rich, weren’t for the brisk acidity and vibrancy, so the balance is very impressive. Aged 14 months in 75% new French oak, the rest stainless steel.
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