Still excellent. Golden almost amber. Rich lush, slightly off dry. Incredible with a US Italian sausage pasta. Lots of flavor needs a robust dish to pair with. Wish I had more! Only slightly faded 6 hours later at dinner.
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Last bottle from a case purchase - crazy color, almost like a desert wine, needed almost 6 hours to fully open up. Great melon fruit, some light oak, and really well balanced. I love the aged Chardonnays, they're not as bright as when they're young but still tremendous
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Perfectly, seamlessly integrated. A toasty middle with gorgeous salinity on the beginning and especially ending where the complexity really shines. Some traits of a top vin jaune. Paired great with the freshest salmon, smokey lentils, and of course fiscalini cheddar at Camino.
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Agree with TLV- best bottle yet; a bit more freshness than the last couple. Orchard fruit, toasted oak is integrated and shows as burnt marshmallow and caramel. Long finish. Excellent match with the sweetbreads.
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Opened by Allred at Anvil. This wine is a treat to drink. I've had this four times now, and this was the best showing for me. All of the best of the previous bottles in one tidy package. It just seemed complete last night.
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Deep golden color, appears very advanced. Notes of toast, butterscotch, roasted caramel apple, quince and fog with a toasted marshmallow note too. Baked apple, marshmallow and fig notes on the palate, with a subtle hazelnut tone. 91 on its own, a couple of points better paired with the sweetbreads, this made for a perfect match.
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Opened by Allred at Anvil. Consistent with prior bottles, although I did not get any fig on this last night. Lovely pairing with the sweetbreads. Love it.
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What was special 8 years ago has morphed but stayed so special. Candied pineapple and almonds with toasted oak and pleasant funky sweat. Pretty great stuff.
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Very rich. Sweet tasting on the entry with ripe apples and pears, honey, butter, soft spices. The wine coats your mouth. The acidity is a bit low, but very nice otherwise. Long finish. Drink now, don't wait any longer.
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I liked this more than expected, but a not whole lot. Runner up for WS Wine of the year in '07? It still had some of the popcorn husk I had noted back in 2007. Later it the night it had a Chard aspect that I have only found in the Kongsgaard The Judge. What is that? Muscadine? One guest actually spit it out. The rest of us were intrigued but no one wanted drink a whole glass.
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Deep yellow color with aromas of toasted apple and butterscotch, hazelnuts and honey with a smoky overtone. Rich texture. Vanilla, hazelnut and baked apple flavors with a long finish. In a really great spot right now. 93-94 pts.
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Wonderful aromas of apples, honey, tropical fruit. Tastes sweet, but is completely dry, full-bodied with apple, white plum and citrus. Great wine, mature, but in a beautiful stage.
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This wine has developed very nicely. My impression summer 2011 was that it was over the hill but the nose and palate has gone even more tertiary in a very pleasant way. White pepper was very obvious on the nose, and the sweetness on the palate was milder. This was a week ago and I didn't take notes.
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I think this one was either just passed it's prime or something had gone wrong in the bottle. It had a sweet and syrupy tropical flavor. We tried it a couple of times and poured it out.
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wowee kazowwee! this bottle was amazing and quite surprising that it even lasted 2 days in the refrig! deep, rich, froral, minerals, great fruit/bananas and vanilla and acid balance was perfecto. Golden color and the mouth-feel was smooth and soft. Reminded me of an aged Montrachet. I wish I had another...
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Beauitful greenish gold color in the glass. Smoky almonds and hazelnuts, white peaches and honey on the nose. Quite rich, unctous and sjweet on the attack with honeyed peaches, guava and lemon, but nice acidity in the mid palate and finish to keep it from going over the top. Not restrained, but really well done.
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US vs Europe (Chung Home, NoVA): i liked this better than the newton. this had a ton of smoky oak flavor -- the barrels must have been extremely charred. still, quite a bit of acid comes through (and looking back, i see this is consistent with my last note!) and keeps this fresh without getting overly sweet. I would like to taste some of these that have aged a bit longer, as I feel this could age well. medium(+) finish.
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Drank at my brother's on New Year's, probably one of the (if not the) best whites we've ever had, great Chard!! - Deep gold, full bodied with a nose of peach, creme brulee, caramel, butterscotch and vanilla, very well structured, intense complexity, creamy smoothness on the palate with terrific length, outstanding! (95 Points).
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This was my last bottle of this wine and it was quite a send off. The nose opened up showing lemon peel, baked peaches, buttered toast and rain on concrete. It was enjoyable to simply sit and inhale the aromas of this beautiful wine. The palate was rich and smooth with citrus, peach snapps, butter and minerals. It had a great concentration yet remained fresh and lively and left you with a burnt sugar finish that went on for over a minute. There is a certain sweetness to this Chardonnay but it is gorgeous.
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My third and final bottle of this....."sweet" is the reoccurring theme here. Very rich, buttery, ripe pit fruits...that's just a bit too sweet imo. And one of the most buttered popcorn wines I've even come across. Now, this wine doesn't suck.....it has absolutely wonderful hazelnut, white honey spice...match strike, vanilla oak, and stony minerals. HUGE and viscous flavors...almost like a dessert wine, or like butterscotch pudding....and that's what keeps this wine from being 5 pts higher, and an absolute amazing Chard, for me. Too much sweetness, and too much buttered popcorn imo. Bring in more citrus acidity and stones to the party...and this baby is a legend! For now, still a great wine, just could be SO SO much better.
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Rich, buttered popcorn explodes on the nose. Classic cali chard and hit the spot. Served on its own. Yellow/golden hue, light on the palate, a well made wine that won't please any burghounds but hits the bullseye if you're looking for how well integrated oak can compliment mountain fruit. My second bottle, and both were slurpable.
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DELICIOUS, i was lucky to get one bottle of this after it was named WS #2 wine of the year - a few years ago. Was not disappointed. balanced, fruit, oak, smooth. we meant to have with dinner, but kept drinking it and had to pull out a different wine to have with the food.
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My only bottle of this, it lived up to its billing. Good structure and acidity, extremely well balanced, with a complex integration of different fruit flavors including pineapple and tropical fruits. Just a tad of oak in the background. Paired wonderfully with homemade chicken pot pie.
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Pretty deep yellow-straw color, just starting to develop some browning. Walnuts, dates, honey, marzipan on the nose lead one to believe this is well on its way to maturity. A whiff of movie theater popcorn is there as well. This wine has really smoothed out over the course of the last year. Nice and round, rich and full, broad and viscous. Flavors of green fig, pineapple cake, kiwi, and caramel; this is a cheerful wine that is a joy to drink. The oak is there but it has been integrated nicely. Maybe some RS? Really lingers in the mouth. An outstanding California chardonnay. Drink up.
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Medium gold. Nose of carmel, candied fruit, apples and oak. Carmel, pinneapple, candied orange peel and oak. Medium finish with good acidity. A good seafood wine.
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Opened in decanter but covered for 1.5hr @60F. COLOR- dark, gold turning the color of ripe apricot. NOSE- slightly oxidized canned pear slices, syrup from the can, star-jasmine, apple-cider, cinnamon atop apple sauce, vanilla, and dried papaya – really opened up and expanded with swirling in the glass, but this is certainly more maderized than on last showing over a year back. PALATE- smooth, oily and slick front-to-back; judging on mouthfeel alone, this has arrived. Pretty much has all that I’ve described on the nose but with a mouthwatering acidity that’s bitter in the best of ways; sure and there's some residual butter flavors too, but it’s really not the dominant player this time around; has secondaries beyond the fruit of oil-cured, brined black olives (salinity). This is one of those white wines you want to have warm because it can handle it; no disturbing heat showing this time. The sheer balance of this wine has allowed and will continue to allow it to evolve additional complexities through the next several years. Will it improve, get better? Probably not (loosing fruit and vibrancy for all of the above), but this is damn fine at mid-life and well worth following through its golden-years. Did I mention anything about complexity? 93-94 points and just a sheer pleasure tonight.
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Wow! Must have caught a good bottle at the right time, b/c this chardonnay ROCKED! Normally a red wine drinker. Complimented baked salmon with horseradish and Worcestershire sauce. Really good!
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Wonderfully rich chard nose - very promising. But on the palate becomes just another vaguely overripe, vaguely overoaked, vaguely vague generic "big" Cali chard. Prefectly pleasant, and reasonably priced, but ultimately dime a dozen.
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Beautiful golden color getting darker with age. This was as wonderful as I remember the last time I had. Paired beautifully with Chicken Piccata at Sahalee with Mom & Dad Mayhew.
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Looks like I have been one of the very few previosuly to not heap massive praises upon this wine the last time I drank this. This time though, it's a whole 'nother story. This bottle was infinitely better than the last. My cellar is litteraly about 5% white as we don't drink much of it, but this was out of this world fantastic.
Beautiful Golden/Bright Yellow color with (as B. Grafstrom would say) superfine particulate matter suspended throughout. Gorgeous nose of buttered Popcorn, toast and some citrus notes. On the attack I'm getting a ton of lemon and other citurs notes which give way to a semi-sweet midpalate. Full of Cocounit and sweet lemon cream to go along with creme brulee (I know, I'm strarting to sound like Brad Coehlo.) Awesome finish with the citrus and cream really coming through to go with the bright acidity to back up everything. With a finish that makes the Enrergizer Bunny look like a two-pump-chump this wine ended with a bang... (I don't drink many whites, but this was absolutely up there with the best I've had.)
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A lot of the other CT notes describe the seriously dominating oak on the nose of this wine which is certainly the biggest factor, and in my opinion, the biggest detractor. Only after the bottle has been open for at least a couple of hours does it start to mellow out a bit and when it does, the wine really shows its stuff. There's some seriously good flavors underneath all that oak but will they ever take center stage and push the oak out of the way? As I only had a single bottle of this wine, I guess I will never know. My score is based on a combination of how the wine showed only after about 3 hours and the potential for it to be really great down the road.
EDIT UPDATE :: after two days, the oak barely subsided and I am convinced that this was a flawed bottle and have changed the rating accordingly.
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golden apple color -the oak is still very prominent at this point but does not distract from the overall experience. Reminded me of the Hansel style as well as towards the Spectrum of a Batard from a ripe year. Lovely exotic white fruit mostly star fruit & some melon,Also some red fruit notes & earthy peat hints and a nice structure with mineral components. Very rich & dense but not cloying as there is ample acidity here to keep it all in fine balance. All & all very enjoyable and should be even finer over the next 3-5 as the oak integrates further.
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serious oak. tasted like liquid smoke added on top of chardonnay -- lots of oak on the nose and ont he initial attack, but it gets cut with a citrusy acidity -- almost like I would expect from an unoaked chardonnay - before a more subtle, but powerful oak lingers on the medium-long finish. very interesting wine and well made -- the oak is a little too much for me.
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I view this a bit on the high side of most of the notes. Don't see it getting much better over time, despite professional ratings. Medium-bodied, some oak on the finish but it is not overwhelming. Don't see it as American as some others.
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Overwhelming nose of Burnt toast. Not necessarily oak, but a definite toasty smell to it. A little coconut to go along with it. Medium-full bodied wine. Creamy mouthfeel, but with nice acidity to back it up. Long finish that had a butterscotch element to it. The toastiness to it detracts from the wine and I think pulls the wine away from the fruit. Good wine, but it's seen better days.
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Brillant gold in color. When first open the nose is stone and a bit funky but quickly turnes to melon, banana and fresh strawberries with a hint of honeysuckle and white flowers. As the wine sits in the glass scents of almond and oak come to the surface. The bottles high alcohol shows a bit with each sniff. Full bodied and smooth with apple and pear that leads to a lime finish that last for a full minute. I'm so sad this wine won so many accolades because I'd love to be able to buy more of it
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I see a trend here over the five bottles and 14 months. The fruit and crispness is fading fast and the oak is asserting itself. Better younger. Maybe it will change, but for me not as good as before.
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Better than my first tasting of this -- I agree with the buttered popcorn comments, but thought that this had much more going on with the palate and showed some good pear, oak and spice.
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This wine was a bit controversial in our household. Initially served at room temp and the wife said it smelled like epoxy glue. Cooled it down while we made dinner and served with king crab legs (with butter of course). Became more palatable to the wife but she still thought it smelled like epoxy. I am still in the buttered popcorn camp and, once again, find the nose and palate to interesting/fun on glass number one but becoming boring in glass number two. This was our last bottle (two of two) and feel like "been there, done that." Will not buy anymore.
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Not sure what to expect when I opened this bottle, since it was my first time drinking this wine. Nice color, toasty oak, fruit and not too buttery. Thoroughly enjoyed this bottle over two days.
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Hmm, wild ride but has slid out of my interest zone - someone a couple of notes ago noted less fresh, more toast, and I agree. Strong nose of burnt buttered popcorn - pretty much the only thing you smell. On the palate, the great acidity is still there but too much tropical fruit and vanilla oak for my taste. Long finish. Still very nice wine, but has lost a step.
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What a great wine! Clear yellow - gold in the glass, nose of buttered popcorn, smokey fruit - palate of citrus/apple, long smooth finish. Tears of joy and sadness - beautiful wine experience, but unfortunately the last bottle.
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90+ min. decant. Color: golden yellow with suds and bubbles on top that mellowed to a placid, viscous surface with a few swirls and time. Nose: not as much fruit as I expected/had hoped; loads of toasted oak, salty butter, like the butter flavored salt-water taffy. I'm having a hard time placing the fruit -- maybe Asian pear, some faint fig; in the background a nuttiness (almonds?)...the taffy note is definitely dominant. Palate: this starts off super smooth and silky on the entry bringing good acidity and balance at the tip that transitions mellifluously into a sweetened honey/floral mid-passing, turning towards fruit and more fruit (pear pear pear) on the eternal finish; also showing in the mid-palate is the buttered popcorn so many folks have referenced, and also showing on the finish a tangy element of raw dried pears. This is medium to heavy bodied and, to me, is showing much better than I expected. There is a wealth of oak, but I like it; the fruit on the tail-end is out of this world. If anything, missing for me, is perhaps stone minerality that I love to see in my chardonnays; otherwise, phenomenal. I get a little burnt marshmallow and dried goji berry on the empty glass sniff. To me this might be the best Chardonnay varietal wine I've had, definitely from CA. I wonder how this showed at release? Right now, it's a 93-94...still deciding on the specifics. I stored this in a Eurocave following my purchase direct from Winery. Only got better the more time it sat in the decanter, gaining richness (creaminess, fruit purity, tang) as the temperature rose.
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Did not like it as much as before. Another note mentioned 'hickory', and I agree. IT kind of blew off a bit after an hour or two. It is still an excellent wine, but like many fruit bombs- when it mellows some of the imperfections can start standing out.
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Fantastic chardonnay. Only The Judge beats it. Great vibrant color. Smooth with citrus flavors. Just the right balance and amount of oak. Fantastic wine. WS got it right as the number 2 wine for 2007. Fantastic long and smooth finish. Wish I had cases of it.
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I was very underwhelmed by this, especially given the hype. It was a pretty good chardonnay, with vanilla, butter and some citrus flavors poking through. Nothing extraordinary though.
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No notes. I thought this bottle was drinking a little better than the last bottle. Light yellow to yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of vanilla and pear that carries through to the palate. Medium acidity, full body. Drink or hold.
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Very interesting. Had a smoky taste - almost like hickory? Nice balance, some butter, but still good crisp acidity. We had it with grilled salmon and it was a nice match. Not sure it is unique enough to have made it to the WS top 10, but a somewhat better value at $35 than the traditional CA powerhouse chardonnays (eg, Kistler).
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Clear yellow-gold in the glass, nose of buttered popcorn, almost smokey, palate of citrus/apple, nice acidity, long finish. Verrrry smooth!! Wow!! Will find it hard to wait before opening the last bottle. Was WOTN.
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I couldn't figure out what the nose was here and someone said ham, bingo. Very think and rich with little acidity. You can do this alone or like many in our group paired it with a duck entree. I still haven't decided if I like the style or not.
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Liquid gold. The nose has developed a pronounced nutiness to it which is appealing. Buttered toast and nuts on the palate. Good balance and firm acidity carry the wine to a long finish.
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There is no doubt that this is a wonderfully made wine but there is also no doubt that it is a butter bomb. Was just like drinking liquid popcorn topped with the old fashioned theater butter. A lot of fun to drink except that fatigue set in on the second glass. Highly recommended but be sure to share it with others in order to limit yourself to one glass.
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I'm not thinking #2 on Spectator top 100 list. Still a very different chard. Big nose and taste of eculyptus with nice fruit and a long mineral finish. More time may help integrate and mellow. Definitely worth a try because it is so different from your typical California Chard.
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Excellent stuff. Reminds me of the Lewis Reserve 03. Rich, thick tropical flavors. Could get a bit better if it becomes more integrated and smoother. But, there is a lot here.
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Excellent. Nose quite buttery with a petroleum jelly hint, on a rich gold color in the glass. In the mouth, zowee! Really bright mouthwatering acidity made this so much more than an everyday over-oaked, over-malo'd chard. Rich fruit and toasty oak but so well balanced by the acidity. Not something I'd want to drink everyday with dinner, but man, I can't stop drinking it now...
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Outstanding wine. A striking gold color that seems almost illuminated. Complex nuanced nose of fig, ginger, honey and melon. Heavy but silky feel followed by big tastes of figs and pear and a somewhat sweet but balanced finish.
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Golden yellow color. Aromas of smoke, vanila and toast. Huge fruity fatness and wood taste, with popcorn and butter, honey melon, white pepper. Soft and pleasant, but at the same time very fat and clear impressions of wood. Well balanced between the many impressions, but this is going to need a few years cellaring to show its best.
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Tasted August 22, 2007 at a DAWGS offline. Opened and served immediately. Yellow to dark yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of cream, pear, hazelnut and yellow apples. Flavors of cream, pineapple and sweet apple. Light to medium acidity, medium to full body. Drink over the short term.
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Hot buttered popcorn, slightly starting to brown, with the smell of the way the hull of the kernel tastes. Very unique and well made wine, no doubt. Lots of toasty oak, but good oak with a brush of lychees. But I couldn't get it to go with ANY food. Tried salad, wild rice, herbed tempeh in a butter/wine/cream sauce, asparagus, and a variety of cheeses. The only thing it really paired well with was the crackers. This is why it was really tough to score this on for me. I felt like I could have given it an 87, or a 93. My wife was intrigued by it but couldnt decide if she liked it. She was put off by a heavy mid-palate feel.
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Second tasting with mostly consistent notes... gave it a slightly higher score this time because the bottle was not showing as much oak on the nose or palate. Still dominated by tropical fruits and drinking very well right now.
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Buttery popcorn, a bit sweet, and just the right amount of acidity. Ridge knows how to make great wine and this is no exception. The nose has a lot of oak, but such quality oak that you can't help but enjoy it.
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We were greeted at the Monte Bello release party at Ridge with a generous pour of this wine and were surprised by how good it was. Ordered a sixer and this is my first bottle. While this one wasn't as good as I remember it, it was still a very good wine. Nose gives off toasty oak and hints of banana. Tropical fruits dominate the palate. Medium bodied with acidity a little on the low side. I am happy with my purchase at $35. I hope my other bottles are as good as the one we had at Ridge (which I would have put in te 94-95 range!).
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Vanilla toast, hint of white pepper, citrus note, ripe fruit, good acidity, supple mouthfeel, well balanced. A little Burgundian "funk" is present after a few sips, but makes this a great wine.
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Nice golden color. Not much fruit on the nose. Some sort of interesting smell that is apparently toasted or smoky oak. Taste has lots of fruit and a long finish with nice acidity.
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This was hands down the best chardonnay I have ever had. Not really a big fan of California chardonnay, this one made me a believer. The nos is very oaky, which at first was a turn off. The taste, however was extremely balanced with layers of flavor that went on and on. Nice and buttery, with good acidity, I am glad I have several left to watch over the next few years.
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The nose of stone fruits and orange marmalade (and stone) gives this away as a sweet-bomb, which, while it has a nice layered feel, some unfolding of tastes, and some acid-grip to pull its length out, doesn't have the breadth to keep it interesting. I can love California-Styled buttery Chards if they are just so, but as Randy would say, this was just alright for me. Varner and Newton Unfiltered defend their turf in the ~$30+ I want to drink something good right now territory.
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Intense and rich Chard! Sweet(a little too sweet) pear, apple, fig fruit....complexed with vanilla butter, toasted hazelnut oak, lemon meringue pie. Reminds me a little of Leeuwin Estate. Nice spices, creamy, yet alive with some citrus acidity. Just a little too sweet for what I want out of Ridge. And the oak-haters will not be pleased as well. I'm interested to see what this becomes in a couple years though. Seems like good structure, and sweet enough fruit to last a long long time. I won't drink another for a few years(maybe?). This could go 5 pts higher....
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I preferred this over the Sbragia. The initial aroma is smoky toasted oak, followed by racy fruit and floral tones. Plenty of acidity keeps this focused on the palate, with smoky oak, pear and mineral flavors.
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11/21/2016 - Chitarra Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still excellent. Golden almost amber. Rich lush, slightly off dry. Incredible with a US Italian sausage pasta. Lots of flavor needs a robust dish to pair with. Wish I had more! Only slightly faded 6 hours later at dinner.
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9/20/2016 - phandel wrote:
Peter's 40th: Nice and oaky. Lots of bubble gum and sugar on the nose.
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8/13/2016 - La Peste Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is killer
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6/17/2016 - finewinebuff57 wrote: 89 Points
Deep golden colour, full, long and generous. Some acidity and by no means falling apart, but probably slightly past its best.
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3/8/2016 - Barry Raterink Likes this wine: 93 Points
Last bottle from a case purchase - crazy color, almost like a desert wine, needed almost 6 hours to fully open up. Great melon fruit, some light oak, and really well balanced. I love the aged Chardonnays, they're not as bright as when they're young but still tremendous
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5/23/2015 - Rollerball wrote: 93 Points
Perfectly, seamlessly integrated. A toasty middle with gorgeous salinity on the beginning and especially ending where the complexity really shines. Some traits of a top vin jaune. Paired great with the freshest salmon, smokey lentils, and of course fiscalini cheddar at Camino.
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4/17/2015 - drewdown wrote:
Fruit has definitely faded. Should have drank sooner.
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10/29/2014 - AllRed wrote: 94 Points
Agree with TLV- best bottle yet; a bit more freshness than the last couple. Orchard fruit, toasted oak is integrated and shows as burnt marshmallow and caramel. Long finish. Excellent match with the sweetbreads.
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10/29/2014 - thelostverse wrote: 94 Points
Opened by Allred at Anvil. This wine is a treat to drink. I've had this four times now, and this was the best showing for me. All of the best of the previous bottles in one tidy package. It just seemed complete last night.
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9/30/2014 - AllRed wrote: 91 Points
Tasting the New Fall Menu with thelostverse (The Anvil Club, East Dundee, IL): I brought this along because I thought it would have the richness to pair with sweetbreads, and I was not wrong.
Deep golden color, appears very advanced. Notes of toast, butterscotch, roasted caramel apple, quince and fog with a toasted marshmallow note too. Baked apple, marshmallow and fig notes on the palate, with a subtle hazelnut tone. 91 on its own, a couple of points better paired with the sweetbreads, this made for a perfect match.
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9/30/2014 - thelostverse wrote: 93 Points
Opened by Allred at Anvil. Consistent with prior bottles, although I did not get any fig on this last night. Lovely pairing with the sweetbreads. Love it.
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4/20/2014 - Rollerball wrote: 92 Points
What was special 8 years ago has morphed but stayed so special. Candied pineapple and almonds with toasted oak and pleasant funky sweat. Pretty great stuff.
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1/13/2014 - drewdown wrote: 92 Points
Fruit has faded a bit since last tasted but still has the nutty complexity I remember and love.
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1/12/2014 - RhoneG Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very rich. Sweet tasting on the entry with ripe apples and pears, honey, butter, soft spices. The wine coats your mouth. The acidity is a bit low, but very nice otherwise. Long finish. Drink now, don't wait any longer.
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1/7/2014 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 87 Points
I liked this more than expected, but a not whole lot. Runner up for WS Wine of the year in '07? It still had some of the popcorn husk I had noted back in 2007. Later it the night it had a Chard aspect that I have only found in the Kongsgaard The Judge. What is that? Muscadine? One guest actually spit it out. The rest of us were intrigued but no one wanted drink a whole glass.
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11/2/2013 - AllRed wrote:
The fruit has diminished a bit overnight and it is now dominated by notes of caramel corn, roasted nuts and smoke.
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11/1/2013 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Ridge Vineyards Virtual Winemaker Tasting of the Fall Releases (Our house): Deep color with notes of caramel corn, baked apple and pear, cashews and smoke. Apple and pear flavors with caramel and smoke and a long finish. Showing more oak than I recall from the last bottle, but I like it.
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11/1/2013 - thelostverse wrote: 92 Points
Ridge tasting at Allred's. This was very smoky last night with notes of cashew and a huge wallop of oak.
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5/14/2013 - AllRed Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep yellow color with aromas of toasted apple and butterscotch, hazelnuts and honey with a smoky overtone. Rich texture. Vanilla, hazelnut and baked apple flavors with a long finish. In a really great spot right now. 93-94 pts.
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5/14/2013 - thelostverse wrote: 94 Points
Opened by Allred. Nice oak treatment with a toasty quality. Citrus fruits with some fig as well. Long finish. Love Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay.
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10/13/2012 - RhoneG wrote: 97 Points
Wonderful aromas of apples, honey, tropical fruit. Tastes sweet, but is completely dry, full-bodied with apple, white plum and citrus. Great wine, mature, but in a beautiful stage.
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7/11/2012 - Chitarra wrote: 90 Points
This wine has developed very nicely. My impression summer 2011 was that it was over the hill but the nose and palate has gone even more tertiary in a very pleasant way. White pepper was very obvious on the nose, and the sweetness on the palate was milder. This was a week ago and I didn't take notes.
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11/24/2011 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote:
I think this one was either just passed it's prime or something had gone wrong in the bottle. It had a sweet and syrupy tropical flavor. We tried it a couple of times and poured it out.
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10/18/2011 - david-greenwald@comcast.net wrote: 92 Points
wowee kazowwee! this bottle was amazing and quite surprising that it even lasted 2 days in the refrig! deep, rich, froral, minerals, great fruit/bananas and vanilla and acid balance was perfecto. Golden color and the mouth-feel was smooth and soft. Reminded me of an aged Montrachet. I wish I had another...
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5/22/2011 - JNK Pereira wrote: 88 Points
Hmmm. 2nd bottle better, but not what I remember. Fruit/complexity fading. Remaining inventory on my short-list to drink "now".
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5/22/2011 - JNK Pereira wrote: flawed
Bad cork/bottle. Disappointing.
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3/4/2011 - jreis wrote:
Beauitful greenish gold color in the glass. Smoky almonds and hazelnuts, white peaches and honey on the nose. Quite rich, unctous and sjweet on the attack with honeyed peaches, guava and lemon, but nice acidity in the mid palate and finish to keep it from going over the top. Not restrained, but really well done.
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2/19/2011 - ews3 wrote: 92 Points
US vs Europe (Chung Home, NoVA): i liked this better than the newton. this had a ton of smoky oak flavor -- the barrels must have been extremely charred. still, quite a bit of acid comes through (and looking back, i see this is consistent with my last note!) and keeps this fresh without getting overly sweet. I would like to taste some of these that have aged a bit longer, as I feel this could age well. medium(+) finish.
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12/31/2010 - Tarrant wrote: 95 Points
Drank at my brother's on New Year's, probably one of the (if not the) best whites we've ever had, great Chard!! - Deep gold, full bodied with a nose of peach, creme brulee, caramel, butterscotch and vanilla, very well structured, intense complexity, creamy smoothness on the palate with terrific length, outstanding! (95 Points).
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11/1/2010 - Gfritzh wrote: 93 Points
A really good Chardonnay showing no signs of age. Drinking great now.
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9/24/2010 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 93 Points
This was my last bottle of this wine and it was quite a send off. The nose opened up showing lemon peel, baked peaches, buttered toast and rain on concrete. It was enjoyable to simply sit and inhale the aromas of this beautiful wine. The palate was rich and smooth with citrus, peach snapps, butter and minerals. It had a great concentration yet remained fresh and lively and left you with a burnt sugar finish that went on for over a minute. There is a certain sweetness to this Chardonnay but it is gorgeous.
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9/17/2010 - tthorn wrote: 92 Points
The other reviewers are spot on - popcorn, pineapple, and hazelnut are great descriptors. Very, very rich and gaining darkness and golden color.
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8/13/2010 - Mrbuzz Likes this wine: 92 Points
My third and final bottle of this....."sweet" is the reoccurring theme here. Very rich, buttery, ripe pit fruits...that's just a bit too sweet imo. And one of the most buttered popcorn wines I've even come across. Now, this wine doesn't suck.....it has absolutely wonderful hazelnut, white honey spice...match strike, vanilla oak, and stony minerals. HUGE and viscous flavors...almost like a dessert wine, or like butterscotch pudding....and that's what keeps this wine from being 5 pts higher, and an absolute amazing Chard, for me. Too much sweetness, and too much buttered popcorn imo. Bring in more citrus acidity and stones to the party...and this baby is a legend! For now, still a great wine, just could be SO SO much better.
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7/30/2010 - btock wrote: 93 Points
Rich, buttered popcorn explodes on the nose. Classic cali chard and hit the spot. Served on its own. Yellow/golden hue, light on the palate, a well made wine that won't please any burghounds but hits the bullseye if you're looking for how well integrated oak can compliment mountain fruit. My second bottle, and both were slurpable.
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7/14/2010 - wineforrest wrote: 95 Points
DELICIOUS, i was lucky to get one bottle of this after it was named WS #2 wine of the year - a few years ago. Was not disappointed. balanced, fruit, oak, smooth. we meant to have with dinner, but kept drinking it and had to pull out a different wine to have with the food.
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7/11/2010 - snowstrm wrote: 93 Points
My only bottle of this, it lived up to its billing. Good structure and acidity, extremely well balanced, with a complex integration of different fruit flavors including pineapple and tropical fruits. Just a tad of oak in the background. Paired wonderfully with homemade chicken pot pie.
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6/28/2010 - signotim wrote: 92 Points
continued to improve each night after opened.
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6/21/2010 - herberto wrote: 89 Points
Very ripe, starting to get to the end of its prime, I'd say.
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6/9/2010 - tthorn wrote: 93 Points
Pretty unique and impressive. Very rich, with buttered popcorn and butterscotch flavors and a nice acidity despite the age. Worth the acclaim.
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6/5/2010 - mmontejano wrote: 95 Points
Wow. Great stuff.
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2/27/2010 - DanR Likes this wine: 93 Points
Pretty deep yellow-straw color, just starting to develop some browning. Walnuts, dates, honey, marzipan on the nose lead one to believe this is well on its way to maturity. A whiff of movie theater popcorn is there as well. This wine has really smoothed out over the course of the last year. Nice and round, rich and full, broad and viscous. Flavors of green fig, pineapple cake, kiwi, and caramel; this is a cheerful wine that is a joy to drink. The oak is there but it has been integrated nicely. Maybe some RS? Really lingers in the mouth. An outstanding California chardonnay. Drink up.
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2/20/2010 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 92 Points
Medium gold. Nose of carmel, candied fruit, apples and oak. Carmel, pinneapple, candied orange peel and oak. Medium finish with good acidity. A good seafood wine.
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2/14/2010 - z_willus_d wrote: 93 Points
Opened in decanter but covered for 1.5hr @60F. COLOR- dark, gold turning the color of ripe apricot. NOSE- slightly oxidized canned pear slices, syrup from the can, star-jasmine, apple-cider, cinnamon atop apple sauce, vanilla, and dried papaya – really opened up and expanded with swirling in the glass, but this is certainly more maderized than on last showing over a year back. PALATE- smooth, oily and slick front-to-back; judging on mouthfeel alone, this has arrived. Pretty much has all that I’ve described on the nose but with a mouthwatering acidity that’s bitter in the best of ways; sure and there's some residual butter flavors too, but it’s really not the dominant player this time around; has secondaries beyond the fruit of oil-cured, brined black olives (salinity). This is one of those white wines you want to have warm because it can handle it; no disturbing heat showing this time. The sheer balance of this wine has allowed and will continue to allow it to evolve additional complexities through the next several years. Will it improve, get better? Probably not (loosing fruit and vibrancy for all of the above), but this is damn fine at mid-life and well worth following through its golden-years. Did I mention anything about complexity? 93-94 points and just a sheer pleasure tonight.
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2/9/2010 - BigPoppaMD wrote: 94 Points
Wow! Must have caught a good bottle at the right time, b/c this chardonnay ROCKED! Normally a red wine drinker. Complimented baked salmon with horseradish and Worcestershire sauce. Really good!
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1/28/2010 - herberto wrote: 88 Points
Wonderfully rich chard nose - very promising. But on the palate becomes just another vaguely overripe, vaguely overoaked, vaguely vague generic "big" Cali chard. Prefectly pleasant, and reasonably priced, but ultimately dime a dozen.
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12/18/2009 - rhalbert wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful golden color getting darker with age. This was as wonderful as I remember the last time I had. Paired beautifully with Chicken Piccata at Sahalee with Mom & Dad Mayhew.
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9/26/2009 - Mrbuzz wrote: 93 Points
Big,rich,little sweet, buttery,caramel,yet cut with minerals,complexed hazelnut. Super wine.
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8/27/2009 - GZ3 wrote: 92 Points
butter and spice
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8/20/2009 - yonster24 wrote:
Looks like I have been one of the very few previosuly to not heap massive praises upon this wine the last time I drank this. This time though, it's a whole 'nother story. This bottle was infinitely better than the last. My cellar is litteraly about 5% white as we don't drink much of it, but this was out of this world fantastic.
Beautiful Golden/Bright Yellow color with (as B. Grafstrom would say) superfine particulate matter suspended throughout. Gorgeous nose of buttered Popcorn, toast and some citrus notes. On the attack I'm getting a ton of lemon and other citurs notes which give way to a semi-sweet midpalate. Full of Cocounit and sweet lemon cream to go along with creme brulee (I know, I'm strarting to sound like Brad Coehlo.) Awesome finish with the citrus and cream really coming through to go with the bright acidity to back up everything. With a finish that makes the Enrergizer Bunny look like a two-pump-chump this wine ended with a bang... (I don't drink many whites, but this was absolutely up there with the best I've had.)
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6/2/2009 - rmpoole1 wrote: 88 Points
Gift to Claudine Brisard
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5/6/2009 - Rob MacKay wrote: flawed
A lot of the other CT notes describe the seriously dominating oak on the nose of this wine which is certainly the biggest factor, and in my opinion, the biggest detractor. Only after the bottle has been open for at least a couple of hours does it start to mellow out a bit and when it does, the wine really shows its stuff. There's some seriously good flavors underneath all that oak but will they ever take center stage and push the oak out of the way? As I only had a single bottle of this wine, I guess I will never know. My score is based on a combination of how the wine showed only after about 3 hours and the potential for it to be really great down the road.
EDIT UPDATE :: after two days, the oak barely subsided and I am convinced that this was a flawed bottle and have changed the rating accordingly.
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5/2/2009 - bon vivant wrote: 94 Points
golden apple color -the oak is still very prominent at this point but does not distract from the overall experience. Reminded me of the Hansel style as well as towards the Spectrum of a Batard from a ripe year. Lovely exotic white fruit mostly star fruit & some melon,Also some red fruit notes & earthy peat hints and a nice structure with mineral components. Very rich & dense but not cloying as there is ample acidity here to keep it all in fine balance. All & all very enjoyable and should be even finer over the next 3-5 as the oak integrates further.
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4/13/2009 - jpleisure wrote: 95 Points
If I can find some I'll buy some
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3/20/2009 - ews3 wrote: 91 Points
serious oak. tasted like liquid smoke added on top of chardonnay -- lots of oak on the nose and ont he initial attack, but it gets cut with a citrusy acidity -- almost like I would expect from an unoaked chardonnay - before a more subtle, but powerful oak lingers on the medium-long finish. very interesting wine and well made -- the oak is a little too much for me.
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3/18/2009 - JimN wrote: 93 Points
I view this a bit on the high side of most of the notes. Don't see it getting much better over time, despite professional ratings. Medium-bodied, some oak on the finish but it is not overwhelming. Don't see it as American as some others.
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3/8/2009 - mellison wrote: 96 Points
Fantastic chardonnay. Too bad they cannot make it like this every year.
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2/27/2009 - ToniJ wrote:
Way to much American oak I can smell the dill lots of vanillan Corn nuts on the palate first it was corm flakes but it went kinda salty.
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12/20/2008 - yonster24 wrote: 88 Points
Overwhelming nose of Burnt toast. Not necessarily oak, but a definite toasty smell to it. A little coconut to go along with it. Medium-full bodied wine. Creamy mouthfeel, but with nice acidity to back it up. Long finish that had a butterscotch element to it. The toastiness to it detracts from the wine and I think pulls the wine away from the fruit. Good wine, but it's seen better days.
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12/1/2008 - Eric Guido wrote: 92 Points
Brillant gold in color. When first open the nose is stone and a bit funky but quickly turnes to melon, banana and fresh strawberries with a hint of honeysuckle and white flowers. As the wine sits in the glass scents of almond and oak come to the surface. The bottles high alcohol shows a bit with each sniff. Full bodied and smooth with apple and pear that leads to a lime finish that last for a full minute. I'm so sad this wine won so many accolades because I'd love to be able to buy more of it
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11/28/2008 - smphelps wrote: 90 Points
I see a trend here over the five bottles and 14 months. The fruit and crispness is fading fast and the oak is asserting itself. Better younger. Maybe it will change, but for me not as good as before.
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11/3/2008 - dionysis wrote: 92 Points
Better than my first tasting of this -- I agree with the buttered popcorn comments, but thought that this had much more going on with the palate and showed some good pear, oak and spice.
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11/1/2008 - curtispomeroy wrote: 90 Points
This wine was a bit controversial in our household. Initially served at room temp and the wife said it smelled like epoxy glue. Cooled it down while we made dinner and served with king crab legs (with butter of course). Became more palatable to the wife but she still thought it smelled like epoxy. I am still in the buttered popcorn camp and, once again, find the nose and palate to interesting/fun on glass number one but becoming boring in glass number two. This was our last bottle (two of two) and feel like "been there, done that." Will not buy anymore.
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9/28/2008 - chetlee wrote: 94 Points
Not sure what to expect when I opened this bottle, since it was my first time drinking this wine. Nice color, toasty oak, fruit and not too buttery. Thoroughly enjoyed this bottle over two days.
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8/17/2008 - Squirreljam wrote: 90 Points
Hmm, wild ride but has slid out of my interest zone - someone a couple of notes ago noted less fresh, more toast, and I agree. Strong nose of burnt buttered popcorn - pretty much the only thing you smell. On the palate, the great acidity is still there but too much tropical fruit and vanilla oak for my taste. Long finish. Still very nice wine, but has lost a step.
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8/17/2008 - green-steve wrote: 92 Points
What a great wine! Clear yellow - gold in the glass, nose of buttered popcorn, smokey fruit - palate of citrus/apple, long smooth finish. Tears of joy and sadness - beautiful wine experience, but unfortunately the last bottle.
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8/11/2008 - z_willus_d wrote: 94 Points
90+ min. decant. Color: golden yellow with suds and bubbles on top that mellowed to a placid, viscous surface with a few swirls and time. Nose: not as much fruit as I expected/had hoped; loads of toasted oak, salty butter, like the butter flavored salt-water taffy. I'm having a hard time placing the fruit -- maybe Asian pear, some faint fig; in the background a nuttiness (almonds?)...the taffy note is definitely dominant. Palate: this starts off super smooth and silky on the entry bringing good acidity and balance at the tip that transitions mellifluously into a sweetened honey/floral mid-passing, turning towards fruit and more fruit (pear pear pear) on the eternal finish; also showing in the mid-palate is the buttered popcorn so many folks have referenced, and also showing on the finish a tangy element of raw dried pears. This is medium to heavy bodied and, to me, is showing much better than I expected. There is a wealth of oak, but I like it; the fruit on the tail-end is out of this world. If anything, missing for me, is perhaps stone minerality that I love to see in my chardonnays; otherwise, phenomenal. I get a little burnt marshmallow and dried goji berry on the empty glass sniff. To me this might be the best Chardonnay varietal wine I've had, definitely from CA. I wonder how this showed at release? Right now, it's a 93-94...still deciding on the specifics. I stored this in a Eurocave following my purchase direct from Winery. Only got better the more time it sat in the decanter, gaining richness (creaminess, fruit purity, tang) as the temperature rose.
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8/9/2008 - dougie wrote: 91 Points
Did not like it as much as before. Another note mentioned 'hickory', and I agree. IT kind of blew off a bit after an hour or two. It is still an excellent wine, but like many fruit bombs- when it mellows some of the imperfections can start standing out.
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8/4/2008 - mellison wrote: 97 Points
Fantastic chardonnay. Only The Judge beats it. Great vibrant color. Smooth with citrus flavors. Just the right balance and amount of oak. Fantastic wine. WS got it right as the number 2 wine for 2007. Fantastic long and smooth finish. Wish I had cases of it.
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7/27/2008 - smphelps wrote: 92 Points
More toast and less freshness than I recall from before, but still quite good.
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7/23/2008 - Ali wrote: 92 Points
the consensus was it tasted like burnt popcorn
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7/18/2008 - dionysis wrote: 89 Points
I was very underwhelmed by this, especially given the hype. It was a pretty good chardonnay, with vanilla, butter and some citrus flavors poking through. Nothing extraordinary though.
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7/12/2008 - wineismylife wrote: 91 Points
WIML91-92
No notes. I thought this bottle was drinking a little better than the last bottle. Light yellow to yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of vanilla and pear that carries through to the palate. Medium acidity, full body. Drink or hold.
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6/7/2008 - BeachMBA wrote: 92 Points
Very interesting. Had a smoky taste - almost like hickory? Nice balance, some butter, but still good crisp acidity. We had it with grilled salmon and it was a nice match. Not sure it is unique enough to have made it to the WS top 10, but a somewhat better value at $35 than the traditional CA powerhouse chardonnays (eg, Kistler).
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6/1/2008 - fdaner wrote: 93 Points
prior 2 notes were dead on for our experience. Especially the popcorn/smoke on the nose. Wine really came together with about 2 hours of air time.
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5/17/2008 - Winemob wrote: 92 Points
Smooth buttered popcorn, oil, and ripe apple. This wine is great, but a bit overpowering. Can't wait to see what happens in a few years.
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4/6/2008 - green-steve wrote: 92 Points
Clear yellow-gold in the glass, nose of buttered popcorn, almost smokey, palate of citrus/apple, nice acidity, long finish. Verrrry smooth!! Wow!! Will find it hard to wait before opening the last bottle. Was WOTN.
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3/31/2008 - smphelps wrote: 94 Points
Not much to add to prior notes. Intense, pure layered flavors and a lingering finish all done with great power and balance.
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2/22/2008 - CardDawgWinos wrote:
Great notes of pear and apple. Wonderfully smooth. Perhaps the best chardonnay I've had yet.
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2/2/2008 - Scooter wrote: 92 Points
I couldn't figure out what the nose was here and someone said ham, bingo. Very think and rich with little acidity. You can do this alone or like many in our group paired it with a duck entree. I still haven't decided if I like the style or not.
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1/25/2008 - smphelps wrote: 94 Points
Liquid gold. The nose has developed a pronounced nutiness to it which is appealing. Buttered toast and nuts on the palate. Good balance and firm acidity carry the wine to a long finish.
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1/22/2008 - curtispomeroy wrote: 92 Points
There is no doubt that this is a wonderfully made wine but there is also no doubt that it is a butter bomb. Was just like drinking liquid popcorn topped with the old fashioned theater butter. A lot of fun to drink except that fatigue set in on the second glass. Highly recommended but be sure to share it with others in order to limit yourself to one glass.
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1/2/2008 - signotim wrote: 91 Points
NY dinner in Cupertino. Big, rich chardonnay. Has a hint of green or grass on the palate. Went well with fresh crab dipped in butter with lemon.
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12/20/2007 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 93 Points
Always a good bottle of wine with honey, apple, minerals and pear. A touch of sweet fruit on the palate and a concentrated wine.
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12/1/2007 - jswanson wrote: 93 Points
I'm not thinking #2 on Spectator top 100 list. Still a very different chard. Big nose and taste of eculyptus with nice fruit and a long mineral finish. More time may help integrate and mellow. Definitely worth a try because it is so different from your typical California Chard.
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12/1/2007 - dougie wrote: 93 Points
Excellent stuff. Reminds me of the Lewis Reserve 03. Rich, thick tropical flavors. Could get a bit better if it becomes more integrated and smoother. But, there is a lot here.
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11/24/2007 - rwoods81 wrote: 89 Points
Drank at Thanksgiving. Did not live up to #2 WOY hype.
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11/23/2007 - tdowney wrote:
Drank 1 bottle on Thanksgiving 2007 - good wine - definately worth $35 - #2 on WS wines of 2007
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11/19/2007 - Squirreljam wrote: 94 Points
Excellent. Nose quite buttery with a petroleum jelly hint, on a rich gold color in the glass. In the mouth, zowee! Really bright mouthwatering acidity made this so much more than an everyday over-oaked, over-malo'd chard. Rich fruit and toasty oak but so well balanced by the acidity. Not something I'd want to drink everyday with dinner, but man, I can't stop drinking it now...
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11/17/2007 - wineismylife wrote: 90 Points
WIML90. Consistent with previous note.
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11/17/2007 - win wrote: 90 Points
Large DAWG tasting.: Some gas upon opening, but it blew off quickly. Very upfront wine with quite a bit of butter and oak. Very modern and well done.
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10/28/2007 - smphelps wrote: 94 Points
Outstanding wine. A striking gold color that seems almost illuminated. Complex nuanced nose of fig, ginger, honey and melon. Heavy but silky feel followed by big tastes of figs and pear and a somewhat sweet but balanced finish.
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10/26/2007 - winefool wrote: 92 Points
WS NYWE California Chardonnay Tasting (Marriott Marquis): Pale yellow color. Towering aroma of oak, sulphur, spice, and yellow fruit. Distinctive. Interesting complex creme brulee yellow fruit with good acidity.
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10/19/2007 - andyelcid wrote: 94 Points
Probably the best chardonnay I've had. The smoky oak taste lingers. Excellent as a sipping wine.
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10/18/2007 - Terkel wrote: 90 Points
Golden yellow color. Aromas of smoke, vanila and toast. Huge fruity fatness and wood taste, with popcorn and butter, honey melon, white pepper. Soft and pleasant, but at the same time very fat and clear impressions of wood. Well balanced between the many impressions, but this is going to need a few years cellaring to show its best.
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8/22/2007 - wineismylife wrote: 90 Points
WIML90,NOWA,WS95
Tasted August 22, 2007 at a DAWGS offline. Opened and served immediately. Yellow to dark yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of cream, pear, hazelnut and yellow apples. Flavors of cream, pineapple and sweet apple. Light to medium acidity, medium to full body. Drink over the short term.
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8/14/2007 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 89 Points
Hot buttered popcorn, slightly starting to brown, with the smell of the way the hull of the kernel tastes. Very unique and well made wine, no doubt. Lots of toasty oak, but good oak with a brush of lychees. But I couldn't get it to go with ANY food. Tried salad, wild rice, herbed tempeh in a butter/wine/cream sauce, asparagus, and a variety of cheeses. The only thing it really paired well with was the crackers. This is why it was really tough to score this on for me. I felt like I could have given it an 87, or a 93. My wife was intrigued by it but couldnt decide if she liked it. She was put off by a heavy mid-palate feel.
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8/13/2007 - FakeAccount wrote: 93 Points
3rd tasting with consistent notes.
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8/6/2007 - FakeAccount wrote: 93 Points
Second tasting with mostly consistent notes... gave it a slightly higher score this time because the bottle was not showing as much oak on the nose or palate. Still dominated by tropical fruits and drinking very well right now.
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7/23/2007 - jim dixon wrote: 90 Points
Buttery popcorn, a bit sweet, and just the right amount of acidity. Ridge knows how to make great wine and this is no exception. The nose has a lot of oak, but such quality oak that you can't help but enjoy it.
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7/21/2007 - FakeAccount wrote: 92 Points
We were greeted at the Monte Bello release party at Ridge with a generous pour of this wine and were surprised by how good it was. Ordered a sixer and this is my first bottle. While this one wasn't as good as I remember it, it was still a very good wine. Nose gives off toasty oak and hints of banana. Tropical fruits dominate the palate. Medium bodied with acidity a little on the low side. I am happy with my purchase at $35. I hope my other bottles are as good as the one we had at Ridge (which I would have put in te 94-95 range!).
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7/18/2007 - old tractor wrote: 93 Points
Vanilla toast, hint of white pepper, citrus note, ripe fruit, good acidity, supple mouthfeel, well balanced. A little Burgundian "funk" is present after a few sips, but makes this a great wine.
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7/8/2007 - Wilson95005 wrote: 91 Points
Nice golden color. Not much fruit on the nose. Some sort of interesting smell that is apparently toasted or smoky oak. Taste has lots of fruit and a long finish with nice acidity.
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6/25/2007 - rhalbert wrote: 94 Points
This was hands down the best chardonnay I have ever had. Not really a big fan of California chardonnay, this one made me a believer. The nos is very oaky, which at first was a turn off. The taste, however was extremely balanced with layers of flavor that went on and on. Nice and buttery, with good acidity, I am glad I have several left to watch over the next few years.
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6/25/2007 - silton wrote: 89 Points
The nose of stone fruits and orange marmalade (and stone) gives this away as a sweet-bomb, which, while it has a nice layered feel, some unfolding of tastes, and some acid-grip to pull its length out, doesn't have the breadth to keep it interesting. I can love California-Styled buttery Chards if they are just so, but as Randy would say, this was just alright for me. Varner and Newton Unfiltered defend their turf in the ~$30+ I want to drink something good right now territory.
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6/11/2007 - Mrbuzz wrote: 91 Points
Intense and rich Chard! Sweet(a little too sweet) pear, apple, fig fruit....complexed with vanilla butter, toasted hazelnut oak, lemon meringue pie. Reminds me a little of Leeuwin Estate. Nice spices, creamy, yet alive with some citrus acidity. Just a little too sweet for what I want out of Ridge. And the oak-haters will not be pleased as well. I'm interested to see what this becomes in a couple years though. Seems like good structure, and sweet enough fruit to last a long long time. I won't drink another for a few years(maybe?). This could go 5 pts higher....
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5/31/2007 - Vino Me wrote: 86 Points
Poured at Anwars house over the weekend. Medium bodied with toasty oak notes. Your regular ordinary Chard. 86 points.
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5/26/2007 - AllRed wrote: 92 Points
I preferred this over the Sbragia. The initial aroma is smoky toasted oak, followed by racy fruit and floral tones. Plenty of acidity keeps this focused on the palate, with smoky oak, pear and mineral flavors.
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