Medium lemon color. Pronounced aromas of lemon apple and a bit of buttery pastry. High acidity, medium to high alcohol. Flavors of crisp green apple, lemon, and the slightest hint of buttery pastry. Long finish.
A delicious wine. Superb balance between full mouthfeel and tart, crisp Chablis-like Chardonnay.
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Similar to my prior note. Tasted alongside '19 Aubert CIX and '18 Kistler Durrell. This was the most precise and tart of the 3. Interestingly, out of 8 of us, 2 picked this as WOTN, 3 picked Aubert and 3 picked Kistler. 92+
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Nose of lime rind, minerals, and butter. Tastes of lime oil, lemon, and peach fruit with toasty and buttery elements. Zingy acidity. Minerality on the finish. Creamy texture. Great match with shrimp scampi prepared with a fair bit of butter and lemon.
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Citrus veering towards orange. Floral and spice notes. There is a brightness and intensity that is pretty captivating and a very nice finish. Not the best of the Ramey Chardonnay bunch, but it holds its own and then some.
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Brown butter and yellow onion on nose; pear and butter cut by off dry off clean acid finish. Vibrant mouthfeel elevates a disappointing front end. Pairs nicely with supreme pizza. Pairs poorly with truffle which makes the front end plastic.
Sue: smells of lemon butter; rich and full bodied, butter yields to green apple on finish; nice mouthfeel.
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I attended a practice blind tasting last night for the WSET Level 3 exam. One of the wines we drank was this Chardonnay. It was obvious from the first whiff that this was a Cali doozy. I wrote that the wine was a medium shade of lemon and had a medium (+) intensity nose of....... toast, butter, bread, acacia, melon and banana, I found it youthful. Read those descriptors again. There is no mention of citrus or stone. The palate was much the same in flavors with medium (+) acidity, high alcohol, medium (+) body and was obviously dry in nature. This is a developing wine with plenty of potential to age. I thought it was good to outstanding and would think it gets 92 points. At $60 a pop, this highly rated (94-95 by the pros) wine gets 5 stars.
My initial reaction to smelling this wine was that it had been worked over pretty hard. When I say that, I mean it went through Malolactic Conversion/Fermentation and I even thought it had been treated Sur Lie. I was right. The winery notes mention both processes and explain why it was sooo buttery, with heavy doses of bread, toast etc. It's not my style of wine, but I took the half bottle home to revisit it. Paired with a rice and chicken dish it did okay, but the overpowering tertiary notes are really not up my alley. If you like a rich, full-on Napa/Sonoma Chardonnay with gobs of upfront tertiary notes, go for it. At least try it once. Drink till 2030.
https://wp.me/p125DB-2ga
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Medium straw. Nice bright hue. The nose is lifted. Creme brûlée, light caramel, lemon meringue and wheat husk. Bright warm flavors. Rich. Poached peach. Sweet fruit, acid and very warm. It’s a little phenolic. Slightly disjointed yet still juicy and rich. Lemon and peach. Long. Nice bright example of a rich ripe California Chardonnay.
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1/14/2024 - NJG-323879 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Pnp. Buttery with nice notes of lemon and vanilla. Lingering aftertaste. Beautiful!
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10/26/2023 - denniswdern@gmail.com Likes this wine: 95 Points
Medium lemon color. Pronounced aromas of lemon apple and a bit of buttery pastry. High acidity, medium to high alcohol. Flavors of crisp green apple, lemon, and the slightest hint of buttery pastry. Long finish.
A delicious wine. Superb balance between full mouthfeel and tart, crisp Chablis-like Chardonnay.
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7/14/2023 - ralaspech wrote: 91 Points
Reprised this with shrimp scampi. Tasting notes similar to my 11/12/22 note but a little less intensity than I remember previously.
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2/15/2023 - ralaspech wrote: 92 Points
Similar to my prior note. Tasted alongside '19 Aubert CIX and '18 Kistler Durrell. This was the most precise and tart of the 3. Interestingly, out of 8 of us, 2 picked this as WOTN, 3 picked Aubert and 3 picked Kistler. 92+
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11/12/2022 - ralaspech wrote: 92 Points
Nose of lime rind, minerals, and butter. Tastes of lime oil, lemon, and peach fruit with toasty and buttery elements. Zingy acidity. Minerality on the finish. Creamy texture. Great match with shrimp scampi prepared with a fair bit of butter and lemon.
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7/31/2022 - gmbdds wrote: 92 Points
Citrus veering towards orange. Floral and spice notes. There is a brightness and intensity that is pretty captivating and a very nice finish. Not the best of the Ramey Chardonnay bunch, but it holds its own and then some.
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11/24/2021 - Discoking7 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Brown butter and yellow onion on nose; pear and butter cut by off dry off clean acid finish. Vibrant mouthfeel elevates a disappointing front end. Pairs nicely with supreme pizza. Pairs poorly with truffle which makes the front end plastic.
Sue: smells of lemon butter; rich and full bodied, butter yields to green apple on finish; nice mouthfeel.
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10/13/2021 - caspernick Does not like this wine: 92 Points
I attended a practice blind tasting last night for the WSET Level 3 exam. One of the wines we drank was this Chardonnay. It was obvious from the first whiff that this was a Cali doozy. I wrote that the wine was a medium shade of lemon and had a medium (+) intensity nose of....... toast, butter, bread, acacia, melon and banana, I found it youthful. Read those descriptors again. There is no mention of citrus or stone. The palate was much the same in flavors with medium (+) acidity, high alcohol, medium (+) body and was obviously dry in nature. This is a developing wine with plenty of potential to age. I thought it was good to outstanding and would think it gets 92 points. At $60 a pop, this highly rated (94-95 by the pros) wine gets 5 stars.
My initial reaction to smelling this wine was that it had been worked over pretty hard. When I say that, I mean it went through Malolactic Conversion/Fermentation and I even thought it had been treated Sur Lie. I was right. The winery notes mention both processes and explain why it was sooo buttery, with heavy doses of bread, toast etc. It's not my style of wine, but I took the half bottle home to revisit it. Paired with a rice and chicken dish it did okay, but the overpowering tertiary notes are really not up my alley. If you like a rich, full-on Napa/Sonoma Chardonnay with gobs of upfront tertiary notes, go for it. At least try it once. Drink till 2030.
https://wp.me/p125DB-2ga
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7/26/2021 - KJD45$ Likes this wine: 92 Points
Agree with wombat note
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6/9/2021 - Fat1Wombat wrote: 92 Points
Medium straw. Nice bright hue.
The nose is lifted. Creme brûlée, light caramel, lemon meringue and wheat husk. Bright warm flavors. Rich. Poached peach.
Sweet fruit, acid and very warm. It’s a little phenolic. Slightly disjointed yet still juicy and rich. Lemon and peach. Long.
Nice bright example of a rich ripe California Chardonnay.
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