Deep gold. Medium+ intensity with aromas of honeysuckle, cedar, vanilla, clove, dried apricot, smoke, brioche, yoghurt, bruised apple, almonds, hazelnut, mushroom. Pronounced flavours. Med+ acidity, med+ body. Glycerol. Long finish. This is outstanding. Probably OK for further ageing but struggle to see how it will improve with age.
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Orange, apricot, honey, sugarcane, and grilled hazelnut on the nose and palate. It was rich on the palate with lots of flavours and ripe fruit but the acidity was rather low. Slightly off peak by Burgundy standard, but drinking just at peak for a Cali Chardonnay. 90-91
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This is a ‘marmite’ wine, but great if you like aged (>20yr) white burgundy. Reminds me of a mid-level Meursault with 20-25yrs in bottle. Lots of kernel tertiary notes with colour suggesting oxidation but without the pitfalls of oxidised burgundy. Like the hints of cotton and acacia. In the mouth a touch of honey, marmalade and wax. Only medium acidity shows it’s not French. This holds well in the glass and no hurry to drink - I’m happily aging my cases for another 5yrs. This really works well with heavier foods and is always a popular choice here. Drink to 2030
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A recent release apparently. Deep gold / orange, clearly aged but still has plenty of vibrancy and life. Very complex, apricot and orange fruits, soft hazelnut, plenty of acidity still, really interesting and somewhat intellectual
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From what I can discern, this wine is made with Wente clone Chardonnay grapes from the Livermore Valley. Aged for 10 months on 50% new French oak. ABV is 13.8%.
The color is a vibrant golden/burnt orange. My immediately thought is that it’s oxidized, and well…of course it is, it’s 25 years old. But, I’ve heard these wines can have a ton of bottle variation and was beginning to worry this might be one of the bad ones. The nose doesn’t ease my worries - sherry, hazelnut, salty lemon…but there is some nice complexity lurking. Oranges, lemon zest, brioche, turmeric, Campari. A lot going on in the background!
So now the moment of truth…Admittedly, this wine isn’t for everyone, but to me it’s outstanding. The palate is incredibly complex. Medium body with slightly creamy texture. Boatloads of acid! Like freshly bottled Sonoma Chard levels of acid. But balanced really well by the body and heft of the wine. Orange peels and lemon curd, lime zest, hints of petrol, roasted nuts, some baking spice. Finish lasts a long long time.
This is a killer wine. I was a bit concerned at first, but this has a ton of life left. Highly recommend trying this out if you come across it, although if oxidative styled wines aren’t your thing then steer far far away.
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4/16/2024 - Yassine23 Likes this wine:
Lovely
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3/10/2024 - Andy2014 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep gold. Medium+ intensity with aromas of honeysuckle, cedar, vanilla, clove, dried apricot, smoke, brioche, yoghurt, bruised apple, almonds, hazelnut, mushroom. Pronounced flavours. Med+ acidity, med+ body. Glycerol. Long finish. This is outstanding. Probably OK for further ageing but struggle to see how it will improve with age.
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2/5/2024 - Yassine23 Likes this wine:
Double decanted, very enjoyable. Rich and complex, mature and fresh, seems this wine is only getting better and better with each tasting...
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9/17/2023 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 90 Points
Orange, apricot, honey, sugarcane, and grilled hazelnut on the nose and palate. It was rich on the palate with lots of flavours and ripe fruit but the acidity was rather low. Slightly off peak by Burgundy standard, but drinking just at peak for a Cali Chardonnay. 90-91
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8/14/2023 - JulianSkeels Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is a ‘marmite’ wine, but great if you like aged (>20yr) white burgundy. Reminds me of a mid-level Meursault with 20-25yrs in bottle. Lots of kernel tertiary notes with colour suggesting oxidation but without the pitfalls of oxidised burgundy. Like the hints of cotton and acacia. In the mouth a touch of honey, marmalade and wax. Only medium acidity shows it’s not French. This holds well in the glass and no hurry to drink - I’m happily aging my cases for another 5yrs. This really works well with heavier foods and is always a popular choice here. Drink to 2030
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10/29/2022 - Yassine23 Likes this wine:
Rich and textured. From having had a few of those, I would pop and pour, no need for slow ox and definitely no decanting.
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10/20/2022 - Yassine23 Likes this wine:
Rich and soft yet beautiful acid line that keeps it super fresh.
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9/20/2022 - Yassine23 Likes this wine:
Beautiful, has mature Chardonnay characters such as honey and nutty but overall, lots of freshness. Very long and complex.
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8/20/2022 - kingkanu wrote:
A recent release apparently. Deep gold / orange, clearly aged but still has plenty of vibrancy and life. Very complex, apricot and orange fruits, soft hazelnut, plenty of acidity still, really interesting and somewhat intellectual
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7/17/2022 - Adam V wrote:
From what I can discern, this wine is made with Wente clone Chardonnay grapes from the Livermore Valley. Aged for 10 months on 50% new French oak. ABV is 13.8%.
The color is a vibrant golden/burnt orange. My immediately thought is that it’s oxidized, and well…of course it is, it’s 25 years old. But, I’ve heard these wines can have a ton of bottle variation and was beginning to worry this might be one of the bad ones. The nose doesn’t ease my worries - sherry, hazelnut, salty lemon…but there is some nice complexity lurking. Oranges, lemon zest, brioche, turmeric, Campari. A lot going on in the background!
So now the moment of truth…Admittedly, this wine isn’t for everyone, but to me it’s outstanding. The palate is incredibly complex. Medium body with slightly creamy texture. Boatloads of acid! Like freshly bottled Sonoma Chard levels of acid. But balanced really well by the body and heft of the wine. Orange peels and lemon curd, lime zest, hints of petrol, roasted nuts, some baking spice. Finish lasts a long long time.
This is a killer wine. I was a bit concerned at first, but this has a ton of life left. Highly recommend trying this out if you come across it, although if oxidative styled wines aren’t your thing then steer far far away.
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