February 4, 2024 - Nice fruit. Not much acidity. Not getting any oak
November 22, 2023 - This is a massive chardonnay with big flavors of candied lemon, olive oil, peach and Fiji apple. It is so incredibly complex that you need a few sips to fully process this wine. The finish has toasty oak notes and aromas…this is very good and delicious and might be better to drink alone rather than with food.
November 10, 2023 - This wine was fantastic in 2021. In late 2023, it is still good, but has lost a great deal of acidity... It has a hint of sweetness now, and seems a little "flat." Could be I just prefer younger Sonoma chardonnays. But in any event, I wish I had opened my remaining bottles sooner.
October 1, 2022 - Acidity more pronounced than I remember from prior bottles, and the fruit my have faded a bit--time to drink up.
September 6, 2022 - Golden straw color. Nose of stone fruit and melon. Well balanced with hint of butterscotch. Brilliant wine. Hard to believe it's new world. Enjoy.
February 20, 2022 - Nice acidity and freshness despite its voluptuous body. Lemon meringue pie, honey and almonds. Long lingering finish.
December 10, 2021 - Well made, quite intense, though I find my palate drifting away from these bigger California Chardonnays and towards more restrained styles. That being said, I think this is a bit on the young side, so not sure how I would feel about this wine after a few more years of bottle age.
Very aromatic, quite ripe, pineapple, oranges, vanilla custard, and flowery perfume on the nose. Medium acidity, medium viscosity in the mouth. Feels a bit fat. Rich yellow delicious apple flavors, pineapple juice out of a can, creme caramel dusted with cinnamon in the mouth. Very floral on the finish, which is nice and long. The acidity keeps this wine fresh despite its somewhat lumbering frame.
While this wine is really tasty, and just the sort of thing that I am in the mood for from time to time, I can't help but think that it falls into a bit of an uncanny valley for many Chardonnay drinkers. It's not quite the big, bold, buttery, malolactic caramel bomb that some drinkers are attracted to. Neither is it the taut, acid-driven, mineral, Old World style that others love. It's somewhat in a no-man's-land between the styles (leaning a little bit towards the former than the latter). If this was at a lower price point, I might think the middle is the place to be, it could appeal to anyone picking it up off the supermarket shelf. But at this price point, you generally have buyers who know what they like, and it's usually towards one of these two poles.
Nonetheless, this is the type of wine that I get a hankering for every once in a while. Like two or three times a year. Very nice to have a bottle or two on hand. For me, that's plenty.
October 16, 2021 - I had to try this vintage El Diablo is one of our favorite Arista Chardonnay’s Young vintage, but beautiful wine with apple and peach fruit coming through. Nice balance of butter and fruit. Excellent wine
June 2, 2021 - A luscious combination of orange, burnt sugar, and toast.
April 8, 2021 - Tasted side by side with Arista Ritchie chardonnay 2018. Both were beautiful but this was slightly more luscious and delicious with notes of candied citrus and creme brulee.