January 12, 2019 - Fat and rich with lots of orchard and tropical fruits. Good acidity. This reminded me of a Batard in its richness and density.
December 27, 2017 - Post-Christmas Blinds (Chez Nanda): Served double blind to guests (single blind to me) in a flight of 09 Burg/Cali/Oregon. The nose here is full or rich, round tropical and orchard fruit. Fat and ripe in style with just enough acidity to carry the fruit. Pretty disappointing relative to a non-blind bottle that I had 6 months ago, which seemed less fat. The group was guessing Cali on this one.
December 27, 2017 - Blinds at Rich's (Chicago, IL): Served double blind. Tropical and flabby on the palate, with a little bit of oiliness that wasn't pleasant. Quite rich and fat, this seemed to be a clear warm climate chardonnay, from a producer that used a relatively lighter hand. The finish was marred by bitterness as well, though that didn't seem like it came from oak. I guessed California.
May 30, 2017 - Dinner at The Bristol (Chicago, IL): If served blind, this would easily have passed for a high-quality Meursault 1er cru. This is a wine that fits my conception of what chardonnay ought to be: it's mineral and crisp, with that extra dose of reduction that provides the flintiness that I love. The palate is lean, but with tons of acidity and minerality. Sometimes, I wonder why I roll the dice on white Burgundy when there are wines like this (or Eyrie or Cameron).
July 8, 2016 - rich and creamy, but not an oak bomb. well balanced. though more oak than I was expecting
July 13, 2013 - Oregon: Young vs. old vine tasting & the consumption of Hank, a Scottish Highland steer (Paul's house): Sweet aromas, but overall it's pretty mellow, showing some lemon aroma. Soft and creamy smelling. The palate is creamy in texture, very soft, and not too much intensity, but amazing texture and really fantastic balance. That was the most impressive piece of this wine... the texture and integration on the palate was fantastic, despite the more mellow approach. Huge eruption of acidity on the finish, with incredible length. Really lovely, and the acid on the finish gets quite punishing after some time (in the best possible way), yet it still offers a nice creaminess.
My guess was young vines, but that was a stupid guess. This is from own-rooted Chardonnay plantings from 1974 and 1983. Who knows if this is true, but I could see how that "maturity" and depth of texture and integration on the palate could be the result of the older vines. However, I found this wine most similar in the flight to the Johan wine. This is good stuff, and my (and pretty much everyone's) favorite of the flight. 91+
May 29, 2012 - Great Chardonnay from Oregon. Beautiful golden color and rich aromas of white flowers, oak and definite minerality. Palate offers excellent structure and balance with a long lasting finish. Some nut and pear elements as well as offering excellent acidity to lift the wine perfectly. Outstanding wiine! Excellent example of the pedigree of the vineyard and Jim Maresh's deft hand and minimal intervention.
January 24, 2012 - Platinum tinged golden.
Very pleasant and immediately engrossing. So rich yet lithe and long aromas. Wide and friendly, it also has quite a bit of coiled energy and is mineral and stony. Ripe but delicate stone fruit, ginger cake, lemongrass, cardamom, golden sweet hay. Refined and elegant. It is primary at this point and the oak is prominent but not overbearing.
On the palate, there is a bright acid spine, which is the thread that weaves throughout with good mid-palate intensity and a long, lovely texture from judicious oak and extended time on lees. Flavors follow the nose with rich tones of yellow flowers, brioche, yellow plum and white raspberry. The finish has breadth yet retains focus.
This is a spectacular wine in the making. It is beautiful, rich and primary now. I don't expect it to peak for another 4-6 years. From the warm and cushy 2009 vintage, Jim has crafted a 12.8% Chardonnay from old-vine, dry-farmed 108 clone that is both enveloping and nicely textured as well as lithe and seamless. Beautiful balance and execution. Unfined and Unfiltered. Worth more than the $75 price tag. Buy all you can, while you can...