Colour med gold bright and clear 14/15 Nose med intensity trop fruits melons bananas, citrus orange peel , stone fruits yellow nectarine peach , butter from MLF , oak spice nutty , vanilla , good balance and complexity 28/30 Palate med bodied , buttery, creamy , nutty , good acidity , long finish 41/44 Overall reminds me of early Australian Chardonnay , big buttery oaky , I don’t mind this style but perfer the more elegant non MLF style nowadays 8/11
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The bottle may have gone bad - but this is one of the worse tasting Chardonnay's I have ever had! OVER-oaked!! Taste like wood chips were added... Not our taste or style... I don't think it's gone bad; it's just a bad style...
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The nose was probably the best part of this wine. Straw colored and notes of lemon grass. This is a very buttery Chard which my wife likes and I not so much. I was impressed with the wine considering the price and the AVA. I have not been a big fan of the Santa Maria wines in the past. But this one I would buy for every day drinking. I would highly recommend having food with this wine. Even a cheese and sausage plate will work. I was at 85 and the wife 89 so we compromised.
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Several Tastings today! (Minneapolis, MN): Very good wine. Lemon, spice, floral and grapefruit. Very mild oak and medium, clean finish. This is a nice wine overall.
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I'm doing something different this summer. Too hot to ship wine and our local wine stores are not much so I decided I would try a dozen supermarket wines when the local grocery store had one of their 25% case discounts. Used CT ratings and reviews. Just picked a varietal and searched by narrowing down by vintage, value and then rating. I focus on U.S. wines since that is what the store mostly stocks. Reading the reviews to eliminate those that don't work for me. This bottle was one of the winners. On the outer edge of acidic with some smoke and sea brine. Also did well on Black Stallion Cab, 2016. Foxglove Central Coast Chard, 2017 and Four Graces Pinot Gris--2017. Have had a few mediocre wines but nothing undrinkable. This system would work even better if CT users would post those reviews and ratings--especially on the supermarket wines.
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Quite yellow in color. Definite nose and flavors of oak on top of south coast California tropical-character Chardonnay. Soft acids. Finishes with a notable bitterness — from mechanical harvesting? Bought on closeout for $10. Worth trying at that price.
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Medium yellow color. Smells of yellow apples, apricot, lemon-pineapple cake, along with honey, almond and green olive notes. Creamy texture, vibrant acidity, with lots of yellow plum, apricot and lemon crème flavors. Notes of honey, almond, sea salt and white tea add complexity. Rich flavors but that classis Santa Maria Valley freshness keeps it bright and inviting. Aged six months in 21% new French oak.
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On the nose I got butter, citrus, and pineapple. On the palate, tropical fruits, golden apples, and lemon are balanced by high acidity and high alcohol.
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Medium golden color with slight green hue. A lovely aroma of lemon, apple, peach and gentle tropical note of pineapple greet you with oak, baking spice, and vanailla blending in nicely. Subtle notes of acacia complete the aroma profile. On the palate this rounded, slight creamy, Chardonnay displays medium acid with flavors of apple, lemon and creme brûlée coming to the forefront and finishing with oak spice. The finish is a bit of a let down, given how nice the wine is on the palate. A very enjoyable wine.
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5/3/2021 - LindsayM wrote: 91 Points
Colour med gold bright and clear 14/15
Nose med intensity trop fruits melons bananas, citrus orange peel , stone fruits yellow nectarine peach , butter from MLF , oak spice nutty , vanilla , good balance and complexity 28/30
Palate med bodied , buttery, creamy , nutty , good acidity , long finish 41/44
Overall reminds me of early Australian Chardonnay , big buttery oaky , I don’t mind this style but perfer the more elegant non MLF style nowadays 8/11
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3/5/2021 - flydcjets Does not like this wine: 74 Points
The bottle may have gone bad - but this is one of the worse tasting Chardonnay's I have ever had! OVER-oaked!! Taste like wood chips were added... Not our taste or style... I don't think it's gone bad; it's just a bad style...
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4/19/2020 - Momus99 Likes this wine: 87 Points
Didn't make detailed notes. Recall it being pretty standard but enjoyable.
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3/24/2020 - Sheldog wrote: 87 Points
The nose was probably the best part of this wine. Straw colored and notes of lemon grass. This is a very buttery Chard which my wife likes and I not so much. I was impressed with the wine considering the price and the AVA. I have not been a big fan of the Santa Maria wines in the past. But this one I would buy for every day drinking. I would highly recommend having food with this wine. Even a cheese and sausage plate will work. I was at 85 and the wife 89 so we compromised.
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12/7/2019 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 90 Points
Several Tastings today! (Minneapolis, MN): Very good wine. Lemon, spice, floral and grapefruit. Very mild oak and medium, clean finish. This is a nice wine overall.
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11/7/2019 - Tea Mage wrote: 91 Points
Buttery!!!
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8/17/2019 - jnmcdonald@gmail.com Likes this wine: 91 Points
This was the signature version
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8/14/2019 - spicy1 Likes this wine: 91 Points
I'm doing something different this summer. Too hot to ship wine and our local wine stores are not much so I decided I would try a dozen supermarket wines when the local grocery store had one of their 25% case discounts. Used CT ratings and reviews. Just picked a varietal and searched by narrowing down by vintage, value and then rating. I focus on U.S. wines since that is what the store mostly stocks. Reading the reviews to eliminate those that don't work for me. This bottle was one of the winners. On the outer edge of acidic with some smoke and sea brine. Also did well on Black Stallion Cab, 2016. Foxglove Central Coast Chard, 2017 and Four Graces Pinot Gris--2017. Have had a few mediocre wines but nothing undrinkable. This system would work even better if CT users would post those reviews and ratings--especially on the supermarket wines.
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7/1/2019 - oakville72 wrote: 87 Points
Quite yellow in color. Definite nose and flavors of oak on top of south coast California tropical-character Chardonnay. Soft acids. Finishes with a notable bitterness — from mechanical harvesting? Bought on closeout for $10. Worth trying at that price.
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5/22/2019 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
With some oak influence on the nose I would guess. "Refridgerated sunshine" with the mountains. With some rounded fruit and soft and easy.
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1/27/2019 - Hodderbk Likes this wine: 91 Points
Just delightful. Rich, creamy mouthfeel, notes of honey, melon, apple, oak, vanilla and spice.
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12/25/2018 - Sbourn wrote: 91 Points
Very nice bottle with turkey. Smooth mouthfeel, full body, not too sweet, not too dry.
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12/8/2018 - corkus Likes this wine: 90 Points
Reasonably rich variety with pineapple, apple on palette with creamy finish.
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11/5/2018 - Sbourn Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice. Not too dry, not too sweet.
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10/4/2018 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 88 Points
Medium yellow color. Smells of yellow apples, apricot, lemon-pineapple cake, along with honey, almond and green olive notes. Creamy texture, vibrant acidity, with lots of yellow plum, apricot and lemon crème flavors. Notes of honey, almond, sea salt and white tea add complexity. Rich flavors but that classis Santa Maria Valley freshness keeps it bright and inviting. Aged six months in 21% new French oak.
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9/29/2018 - Stephen.Somm Likes this wine: 88 Points
On the nose I got butter, citrus, and pineapple. On the palate, tropical fruits, golden apples, and lemon are balanced by high acidity and high alcohol.
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9/2/2018 - SommJourney05 Likes this wine: 88 Points
Medium golden color with slight green hue. A lovely aroma of lemon, apple, peach and gentle tropical note of pineapple greet you with oak, baking spice, and vanailla blending in nicely. Subtle notes of acacia complete the aroma profile. On the palate this rounded, slight creamy, Chardonnay displays medium acid with flavors of apple, lemon and creme brûlée coming to the forefront and finishing with oak spice. The finish is a bit of a let down, given how nice the wine is on the palate. A very enjoyable wine.
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