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 Vintage2018 Label 1 of 10 
TypeWhite
ProducerVice Versa (web)
VarietyChardonnay
Designationn/a
VineyardPlatt Vineyard
CountryUSA
RegionCalifornia
SubRegionSonoma County
AppellationSonoma Coast

Drinking Windows and Values
Drinking window: Drink between 2022 and 2029 (based on 12 user opinions)
Wine Market Journal quarterly auction price: See Vice Versa Chardonnay Platt Vineyard on the Wine Market Journal.

Community Tasting History

Community Tasting Notes (average 96 pts. and median of 96 pts. in 20 notes) - hiding notes with no text

 Tasted by Jhalpern27 on 11/14/2023 & rated 95 points: Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve had this. I really love their Chardonnay and Pinot, So burgundy-esq. This was drinking especially well tonight. (830 views)
 Tasted by Wine Warrior 1 on 10/25/2023 & rated 94 points: Drank this wine with butternut squash and apple soup. Oh my, I love that this wine is balanced with all the flavor you want in a great chard. I feel this will age well and improve. One of Melka's more restrained chards and it's a style I prefer over the acid bombs he can put out. Grab this one with confidence, you are in for a treat. (882 views)
 Tasted by WineBurrowingWombat on 8/4/2023 & rated 96 points: Hanging out on a Friday night (Richmond district): Aromas of abundant dark yellow fruits, bitter deep hay, big stones, and dark prickly pineapples flesh. Dark on the nose, like a sketchy alleyway.

On the palate are deep yellow fruits, pineapple rind, bitter minerals and a quiet acidity.

Maybe going into a phase soon as the bright and fresh acidity was more shy and quiet. The vibrancy and exciting energy finally surfaced with some time, better late than never I guess! Air these out a bit if they're performing a little sluggish and also serve at a cooler temp. (1666 views)
 Tasted by AaronMaxwell on 10/1/2022 & rated 96 points: Enjoyed at The Shota. Really the perfect non-champagne sushi pairing.

At first, a ton of tart citrus, but then opening up into more balanced fruit and salinity with a very long finish. (2628 views)
 Tasted by gymnastpro on 2/15/2022 & rated 96 points: No specific notes. But the acidity and structure of the wine is outstanding. One of the best chards I’ve ever had. The bottle went too quickly! (3915 views)
 Tasted by jeffmudd on 12/31/2021 & rated 96 points: A bit early, but still my favorite American Chardonnay, very Burgundian in style. (3737 views)
 Tasted by WineBurrowingWombat on 6/28/2021 & rated 99 points: Nose: [48°] Fresh and ripe prickly pear, lively crushed yellow fruits, pleasant dried coastal rocks and clean fresh grass further away from the coast. [56°] Yellow fruits turn deeper, if it weren't for the acidity, it would be heavier. Also a subtle note of toast (if toasted bread could be fresh made but somehow served cool immediately).

Palate: [49°] Fresh pineapple flesh with a touch of tartness, clean streak of slightly bitter minerality and a bit of ocean salinity. [62°] Similar ripe yellow fruits from the nose as it comes closer to room temp but with a bit more weight. However, it stays buoyant and lifted from the good acidity. Sun dried oak with a bit of spice on the finish.

Attributes: Clear deep straw color. Dry with low amounts of supple tannin. Medium body (tough call) with medium-plus to high acidity. Good finish of at about 15-16 seconds.

Thoughts: Delivers excellent flavors while staying dangerously refreshing. One of those wines that makes you keep coming back for more, sip after sip. It comes down to preference but for those who do not like lots of acidity, this may not be your cup of tea. I find this amount of acidity almost necessary to really showcase the flavors. Told myself to not touch these for another year at least but boy will it be hard not to. Must keep at least two to see what 8-10 years of age can do to these. 98-99

Other notes: Burgundy glass. Poured one glass, left bottle (bottle itself acts as a decanter) at a cooler cellar temp ~45° for the duration of consumption of approximately 3.5+ hours. Recommend serving ~46°-50° and constantly chilled. Decant only if needed. (6270 views)
 Tasted by csimm on 5/16/2021 & rated 99 points: Don't worry, I speak Burgundy: A top-shelf Puligny-Montrachet that face-plants into a fresh patch of blooming Iberean white oleanders while sucking on an acid popsicle of fresh squeezed lemon juice and fossilized trilobites, the 2018 Vice Versa Chardonnay is a dead ringer for a purified P-M, but for the added bump in intensity and weight. So, the girls at École Polytechnique (Collège) must have found this Poindexter to be in need of some virility, so it swung by Chassagne to girth up, hit the Gym de L'Or (that's "Gold's Gym" for the uninitiated), and worked on its show-me muscles to better fill in its acid academics and chalkboard solidity. "Hear me now and believe me later any flabby vanilla doughboy Chardonnay, the Platt is here to rocket-up amazing Rambo pumpitude into your gooey piggy brain." A spritely la dame débonnaire that can also huck a javelin a half-mile (sorry, I mean, 805 meters), the '18 Platt marries the complex and purified profile of Puligny with the stronger and more overt push of flavor that its Chassagne neighbor to the west often possesses... and its FAR neighbor to the west (nord Californie) can even more often overdo. However, here the Platt balances amplitude with profundity. Magnifique!

Don't worry, I speak California: Lemon juice and chalky rocks make for a firm and popping frame buzzing around strong scents and flavors of yellow citrus, white peach, white flowers, and fresh hay. It's tense and nervy like a nuclear arms race, has the fortitude of a Ford F-750, and all the while carries a chiseled-and-luscious balance that allows for a decent amount of flesh and flavor, kinda like pounding your fist into a pillow. If you think Butter Chardonnay is actually a wine and not a stable solid, then best you walk far away from the Platt. But if you actually want to know what a California Chardonnay is supposed to taste like without the additives of fat emulsion margarine, this is your long-awaited palate reprieve. Awesomesauce!

98-99+ points. This shares similarities to the 2017, with perhaps a touch more acidity. A speedier version in its current state compared to the 2017. Worth holding another year or so to see what complexities are within the walls of invigorating energy spinning this wine into stardom. (7608 views)
 Tasted by sean7711 on 5/12/2021 & rated 96 points: Napa 2021 Trip; 5/10/2021-5/13/2021 (Napa Valley, CA): Possibly the best white wine I have tasted in my short wine drinking career. This was a great wine to drink as we sat on Patrice and Samantha's porch, about to dive into their killer red wine lineup.

I can't pretend to be as elegant as csimm or wbw - but make no joke about it, this is a wine that can make me a chard drinker. Just effortlessly lifts across all the senses, makes you want to smell it all day, uniquely pale yellow straw color. Brioche toast, yellow citrus, melon, strong acidic backbone. Well done. (5742 views)
 Tasted by DangerMouse81 on 4/11/2021 & rated 85 points: Melon, banana chips & oak that consumes the wine with air. The acid is so incredibly sour and sticky it comes across as artificial, like a lemonhead candy. Very disjointed and expensive. (4703 views)
 Tasted by AaronMaxwell on 3/2/2021 & rated 96 points: WINEBURROWINGWOMBAT nailed it. Absolutely delicious. Sad I only have one bottle left! Has the potential to age very well. (5408 views)
 Tasted by WineBurrowingWombat on 2/19/2021 & rated 98 points: Nose: [58°] Amazing fruit, what I imagine is fruit with deep yellow flesh, maybe a ripe pear with its skin still on and its pit, deep pineapple, a bit of the mini toasted breads, fresh clean grass, some dried soil and maybe some dried straw. There's a bit of cream or possibly even some white chocolate in the glass. Clean, dried minerals are also here but seem to disappear into the fruits as it comes to room temp.

Palate: [58°] It's so difficult to describe the fruit here but whatever you get from the nose reflects beautifully on the palate. Great acidity that provides this cut through whatever might be perceived as heavy or thick with amazing tension and energy. A pleasant finish of bitter grass, a soft prickly spice, bitter hay and minerals with a bit of salinity.

Attributes: Clear deep medium straw color. Dry with little to no tannin. Medium to full body with medium to medium-plus acidity. Good finish of at least 16-18 seconds.

Thoughts: Tasty. Can easily say this is my favorite Chardonnay. Great energy, lots of fruit, great mouthfeel of dense goodness but with great acidity to keep it lively. The difference for me in this Chardonnay vs others is the liveliness and energy it brings on the palate compared to the other ones I've had. Hard to take my time on this one, constantly kept going back for more.

Other notes: Burgundy glass. Poured one glass, left bottle at cellar temp ~55° to slow-ox for the duration of consumption of approximately 3.5 hours - rinse and repeat. Recommend enjoying at cellar through room temp, it was a pleasant journey with every glass. (6020 views)
 Tasted by jeffmudd on 1/31/2021 & rated 98 points: Ate with first Dungeness of the year, what an amazing combination. Simply a beautiful wine. (5000 views)
 Tasted by Raflores86 on 1/19/2021 & rated 97 points: PnP - this wine was excellent as is. I can imagine it will only get better with more time in the bottle, but it was delicious and ready to enjoy already. Beautiful light gold wine, with citrus notes and some peach flavor, with a little white flowers, vanilla undertone, barely noticeable. On the palate, medium-to-full body, with exquisite acidity, very refreshing which will make this wine last for years, and more citrusy and peach flavors with a great lengthy finish. 97 (5028 views)
 Tasted by jeffmudd on 12/26/2020 & rated 96 points: Hated to drink early, still a bit of a baby and give it another 12-24 months and I will be adding a couple of points. (5143 views)
 Tasted by eschuldt on 11/24/2020 & rated 97 points: Excellent as others as others have said. My personal preference is for something with a bit more viscous character but the acid in the wines keeps everything in balance. (5250 views)
 Tasted by WineBurrowingWombat on 11/8/2020 & rated 98 points: Nose: [58°] Green apple skin, pear flesh, clean grass, dried pineapple flesh and savory minerals like rocks on an ocean shore. Kinda surprising to find a bit of soft earth on the nose here as well. [56°] With some time, a bit of pure light honey appears on the nose. I may be reaching here but there seems to be some sort of lightly toasted bread (something like a soft yeast-y note).

Palate: [59°] Ripe fruit like pear mixed with a really light touch of a grapefruit with its pleasant bitterness, similar dried pineapple flesh from the nose, lemon rind, and similar notes of savory minerals from the nose.

Attributes: Clear medium yellow. Dry with no noticeable tannin. Medium-plus body with medium to medium-plus acidity (very well integrated). Good finish of at least 16-18 seconds.

Thoughts: This is very close to what I imagined as really good Chardonnay (for me). I never had much and was looking for one to satisfy my picky ass and this one hits all the spots for me. This isn't exactly balanced but I mean that in a way as in the things I don't really enjoy much (like the bitterness for example) is dialed down some where it is still enjoyable and adds depth. The way the acidity works here is amazing, this feels heavy on the mouth but at the same time very agile. Take this following note with a tub of Morton salt but something in this gives it a pleasant nose and texture like yogurt (in a good way). Great flavors here and just so enjoyable, very drinkable with great depth.

Other notes: Burgundy glass. Slow-ox'ed in bottle for the duration of consumption over 1.5 hours, probably don't need to decant but try to keep at cellar temp when serving. This is just as a good as it gets to room temperature but I believe this shines more at a cooler serving temp. (6136 views)
 Tasted by Cristal2000 on 8/1/2020 & rated 97 points: Vice Versa Wines - Mostly 2018 with a few others: Fabulous wine. White flowers, citrus, pear and wet rocks predominate the nose. Stunningly fresh and pure, it shows beautiful full fruit and vivacity, just exploding with flavor. Lively and energetic, this is at once powerful and lithe. The mid palate is full of depth and the flavors hit every corner of the mouth. Finish is long and sophisticated with a nice mineral streak. Showing more fruit than the 2017 edition, but still spans the line beautifully between Burgundy and California's best. (7268 views)

Professional 'Channels'
By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Napa Valley’s 2018s (1/27/2021)
(Vice Versa Chardonnay Platt Vineyard) Login and sign up and see review text.
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JebDunnuck.com. (manage subscription channels)

CellarTracker Wiki Articles (login to edit | view all articles)

Vice Versa

Producer website

Chardonnay

The Chardonnay Grape

Platt Vineyard

This groundbreaking vineyard overlooks the town of Bodega and lies on the outer reaches of the viticultural frontier. One of the most marginal Pinot Noir sites in California, our 5.2 acre blocks struggle to set fruit every year as they are buffeted by chilling winds blowing in from the coast five miles away. Red Car has been sourcing fruit from this acclaimed site since it’s very first harvest in 2008 (alongside our friends at Littorai and Scherrer), making it one of the more familiar and consistent Pinot Noirs in the Red Car lineup.

USA

American wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.

California

2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson

Sonoma County

Mendocino County

Sonoma Coast

* Sonoma Coast AVA (Wikipedia)
* Sonoma Coast AVA (Wine Institue)

 
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