Community Tasting Note
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dodongo wrote: 84 points
May 2, 2009 - Can't believe I'm taking the time to review a cheapie from Beringer, but this was surprising. One thing you do get from cheaper Chardonnay is that it is simply unaffordable to put it through the wringer as many oft-maligned California Chardonnays are (I'm not judging that STYLE here, mind you, just this particular wine!). So what I found in my glass after pouring a drink was a chardonnay that gives off plenty of oaky-buttery big body characteristics, but refreshingly heaves a load of fruit over your palate along with that. Still, it's a cheap CaliChard, so there's some weirdness like a surprisingly long, but disappointingly grape skin bitter finish. That said, I think it takes some cajones to even attempt a finish of that length on a mass-produced $11 Chardonnay.
The real coup here may be the potential to exploit this in a restaurant setting. I would bet this would do nicely as a "house" Chardonnay, by the glass for $5 or $6 , especially in some of the more wine-naive areas (as compared to here in the Bay Area where you can't sell a wine without declaring vintner, vintage and variety). A while back I was in the Midwest and Olive Garden tried to sell me on a Kendall Jackson Chard for around that price range. I found this much more appealing, especially while thinking of creamy dishes, white fish, chicken (picatta, esp.), maybe even eggplant parmigiana.3,064 views