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Who Likes This Wine(12)

  1. lek55

    lek55

    3,179 Tasting Notes

  2. SteveVermeer

    SteveVermeer

    1,089 Tasting Notes

  3. 560 B&W

    560 B&W

    3,364 Tasting Notes

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Community Tasting Notes (42) Avg Score: 91.7 points

  • 100% Chardonnay from the dry-farmed 17-yo plot in Santa Cruz Mountains. Fermented spontaneously, aged in partially new French oak barrels. 14,4% alcohol. Tasted blind.

    Youthful yellow-green color. The nose feels characterful and fragrant with aromas of gooseberries and fresh Golden Delicious apple, some sweeter notes of ripe nectarine, light green nuances of asparagus, a hint of creamy oak and a nutty touch of slivered almonds. The wine is crisp, dry and balanced on the palate with a medium body and focused flavors of ripe Golden Delicious apple and apple peel bitterness, some nutty notes of wood, a little bit of creamy oak, light crunchy notes of fresh gooseberries, a toasty hint of popcorn and a touch of apricot. The rather high acidity lends great sense of freshness and structure to the wine. The finish is dry, fresh and quite focused with a moderately long aftertaste of Golden Delicious apple and cantaloupe, some woody tones, a little bit of creamy oak, light crunchy notes of golden currants and gooseberries, a hint of apple peel bitterness and a touch of nectarine.

    A surprisingly fresh, precise and focused Chardonnay. Although the wine is at almost identical ABV% as the 2007 vintage we had earlier this year, the difference between these wines is remarkable. That 2007 had a similarly brisk acidic spine, yet it came across as pretty heavy and somewhat clumsy with its more noticeable ripeness and rather pronounced oaky tones. This 2010 was instead slightly sleeker in body with less obvious ripeness in the fruit department and more integrated oak influence. A lovely wine that feels somewhat younger than what I'd expect from a 12-yo Cali Chardonnay. Great stuff that is drinking really well right now, but also shows potential for further development.

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  • golden yellow, lots of clarity, silvery hue
    Nose: ripe pear, green apple, musk, minerals, vanilla, clove, white pepper,
    oak
    Pal: ripe pear, green apple, musk, minerals, lime, clove, white pepper, oak
    Feel: medium, savory
    Finish: medium
    T6
    horribly made wine, not aging well....blustery, California chard, no class

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  • Drank with a Balsamic and Pear Chicken dish, excellent. Drink now or hold for a couple of more years. Great wine.

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  • This was back to normal after a questionable showing with the last bottle. Apples and pears with deft touch of oak.

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  • Crisp and clean but starting to show it’s age. Drink up!

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View all 42 Community Tasting Notes

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Vinous

  • By Antonio Galloni
    California's Central Coast: Better than Ever (Aug 2012), (See more on Vinous...)

    (Varner Chardonnay Bee Block Santa Cruz Mountains) Login and sign up and see review text.

RJonWine.com

  • By Richard Jennings
    2/4/2013, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 92 points

    (Varner Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Bee Block) Light medium yellow color; intriguing, ginger, quince nose; tasty, rich, ripe quince, lemon, mineral palate; medium-plus finish 92+ points (14.4% alcohol)
  • By Richard Jennings
    3/30/2012, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 92 points

    (Varner Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Bee Block) Light lemon yellow color; ripe, green apple, ripe pear, gooseberry nose; silky textured, tart pear, mineral, tart gooseberry palate with delineation and medium acidity; medium-plus finish (14.4% alcohol)

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