All American Chardonnay Tasting

In the interest of expanding horizons in the US Chard arena. I did a tasting of mostly "newer" Chardonnay producers from California and Oregon. I have been collecting, studying and tasting since the 1980's and I have a stable full of classics that I love (Mount Eden, Ch. Montelena, Hanzell, and Stony Hill among those in my cellar). I have tasted many other premium versions that I am less fond of as well (Aubert, Kistler et al). Over the last decade or two though, there are a large number of smaller producers who are making mostly "old-world" style chard and put together 9 plus one "ringer" (Ridge Monte Bello Chard) for a blind tasting. All of the Chards were double-decanted about an hour before the tasting began. It gave them all a little air in roughly equal amounts which proved necessary for all but insufficient for some.

We started with a Cali Blanc de Blanc to stay in the theme, but broke open a couple older Oregon Pinot's later in the evening for those who wanted something red.

As guests arrived we had a wonderful Blanc de Blanc from Rhys that was enjoyed by all. The food for the event was a mix of things that went well with Chard of course. Starting with my Sourdough Baguette, we had a spread that required little effort throughout the tasting.

• 2018 Rhys Blancs de Blancs Bearwallow Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  This is a really beautiful sparkling wine. Yeasty but balanced with bright acidity and layers of complexity including lemongrass, lime pith, pear and minerals. Long and complex. Gorgeous!

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10 Chards were blinded and tasted at random by everyone before unblinding and discussing. A plurality, 5 of the 10 people in attendance chose the Martin Woods 2021 Koosah Vineyard as the best wine. While others liked the Ceritas, Lingua Franca, Rivers-Marie and Nicolas-Jay best. All the food was great with the wines. It Included...

Belgian Endive with Crab Salad and Pear and Arugula Wrapped with Spec



Smoked Salmon with the works



Mixed Seafood Ceviche



Grilled Octopus



Cucumber with Yogurt and Mint



Sautéed Rabe with garlic



Tuscan Bean Salad



Sicilian Lemon Meatballs

• 2018 Ceritas Chardonnay Trout Gulch 93 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Double decanted at 1:30pm and tasted from 3-8pm. Lovely bright high acid but still quite rich wine. Bright clear lemon yellow color. Nose has lemon, stone fruit and minerals. Palate is nicely complex with minerals, citrus and floral notes as well as an herbal undertone. Excellent but just a little short on the finish or it would have been better in my view.
  
  The next day this was reportedly even better!

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• 2016 Ridge Chardonnay Monte Bello 90 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Double decanted at 1:30pm and tasted through 8pm. Ever so I slightly oxidized (which seems moe common with this wine than most of my Cali Chards) with a deep lemon yellow color, buttered popcorn and butterscotch nose. Rich texture but not altogether in sync. Warmed nuts, lemon curd and butter on the palate. Medium acidity. Slightly disappointing, as I have had much better bottles of this.
  
  The next day this was still similar but actually seemed a trifle fresher, believe it or not.

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• 2021 Martin Woods Chardonnay Koosah Vineyard 96 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Wow, what a wonderful wine! 5 out of the 10 attendees, including me (all but one of the real wine "aficionados" in the group) called this as the wine of the night! So perfectly balanced. Light lemon yellow with a tinge of green. Beautiful nose of fresh cut white flowers, white peach, pear, and lemony citrus. Palate reflects the nose with an herbal undertone. Superb balance and absolute seamlessness across every aspect of the wine. Delicious, complex and long on the finish. Still very youthful and with tremendous upside, but gorgeous tonight!

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• 2018 Rivers-Marie Chardonnay Platt Vineyard 95 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Double decanted at 1:30pm and tasted from 3-9pm. Bright lemon yellow color. Beautiful nose of white flowers, white peach, pear and lemony citrus. Palate reflects the nose with an herbal undertone. Delicious and so well balanced. Gorgeous now with upside! More people picked this as their #2 WOTN than any other wine, including me.

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• 2016 Lingua Franca Chardonnay Bunker Hill 92 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Double decanted at 2pm and tasted through 9pm. Light lemon yellow color. Nose is moderately reduced, showing match stick, white florals and pear as well as some creamy vanilla. Medium (+) acidity. Palate is somewhat smoky and mineral laden along with white peach and pear. Just a little short on the finish. Needs more cellar time and/or breathing. Big but balanced Chard. Few people’s favorite and toward the bottom of the list for me. Elegant but not fully blossomed for me. Needs more cellar time and aeration. Suffered from comparison bias I think as all the wines tonight were superb in the overall scheme of things!

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• 2021 Scar of the Sea Wines Chardonnay Bassi Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, San Luis Obispo County

  Double decanted at 2pm and tasted from 3-9pm. Light to medium lemon yellow color. Slightly reduced nose with floral notes and white peach and lime pith. Palate has crisp acidity, pear, stone fruit and smoky minerals. Finish is slightly short. Seems very tight and closed and in need of air and/or cellaring. Not a group favorite overall.

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• 2016 Tyler Chardonnay Dierberg Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  Double decanted at 1:30 and tasted from 3-9pm. In the top half for almost everyone tonight. Bright lemon yellow color. Slightly smoky nose showing Meyer lemon, stony minerals, and nectarine. Very bright acidity. Palate has lemon and lime, nectarine and wet stones. High acidity, long saline finish. Long life ahead and not near peak IMO. Needs cellaring and aeration.

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• 2019 Domaine Nicolas-Jay Chardonnay Bishop Creek 95 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton

  Double decanted at 1:30pm and tasted from 3-9pm. Light color that belies the depth of the wine. Lovely floral nose with peach, pear, citrus and limestone. Richer palate than it looks with Meyer lemon, white peach, quince and stony minerals yet still very bright with acidity. Long finish and nice texture. Quite balanced and complex with nothing out of place. Kept getting better until it ran out.

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• 2017 Paul Lato Chardonnay le Souvenir Sierra Madre Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  Double decanted at 1:30 and tasted from 3-9pm. This may have suffered from tough comparisons. Rich dark lemon yellow color. Nose is creamy and buttered, with vanilla and caramel. Seems ripe and fruity and probably went through full Malo. More “Cali” than “Burgundian”. Ever so slight oxidation and a clear buttered popcorn palate overtone. Medium-long finish with peach notes. Somewhat “muddled” and in need of aeration IMO. Richer and more oaked than the majority tonight. In the lower half for me. (91-92)
  
  PS - A third of a bottle was left and tasted throughout the next week and actually seemed even better. tasted fresher and still quite creamy and stone fruited.

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• 2016 Domaine de la Côte Chardonnay Juliet 93 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  Double decanted at 1:20pm and tasted from 3-10pm. This was the most controversial wine this evening with the majority ranking it last or next to last, initially. Heavily reduced with lots of SO2 which makes it hard to drink PnP or even with an hour of air. BUT, with extensive breathing (and probably cellaring) this evolves really magically. Initially the SO2 is obnoxious, blocking all enjoyment of the more subtle elements of the wine. With 3 hours of air it finally evolves into a rich, balanced wine that is quite Burgundian and “Lafon-esque”. Bright lemon yellow color. Lots of caramel, grilled peach and lemon curd elements. Bright acidity and strong mineral undertones. Moderately long but bitter finish. This score is an average of a 91 point wine early on and a 95 point wine with multiple hours of air. Definitely better with food.

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A couple of bottles of 13+ year old wines closed out the evening while finishing up the remaining food including a fruit and cheese board.

• 2004 Ponzi Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Tasted Pnp and over 2 hours in glass and decanter. For me this was a little disappointing. It lacked class and distinction. Seemed pretty pedestrian for an older Oregon/Willamette Valley Pinot of good repute. Decent initially but it didn’t seem to evolve at all. Somewhat flat and transparent. Some richness on the palate but not terribly distinctive.

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• 2009 Evening Land Vineyards Pinot Noir La Source Seven Springs Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  PnP then tasted over several hours. Bright mineral and acid structure. Good texture and mineral undertones, followed by strawberry and cranberry fruit. Long and captivating on the finish. Certainly in the drinking window but nowhere near needing to drink up. Should keep for a long time with proper storage but also drinking well now. Very well balanced and energetic.

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More people clearly enjoyed the Martin Woods Koosah Vineyard Chard the most. Several of the wines were rather heavily reduced and needed extensive aeration (hours) before they were enjoyable. This of course made comparisons difficult in real time. If each had been at their respective peak, I am not sure which may have actually prevailed as the WOTN. Notably, the Domaine de la Côte Juliet Chard was dramatically different and beautiful after 2 hours in a decanter but was one of the bottom 2 initially when tasted next to the others.