Grocery Store Chardonnay Project

Transcription

In search of reasonably priced wines of character
Grocery Store Chardonnay Project
2016 MARCH 3
LEAVE A COMMENT
tags: Acacia, Alma Rosa, Au Bon Climat, Barefoot Cellars, Beaulieu,Beringer, Bogle, Bronco Wine Co., Chateau St.
Jean, Chateau Ste. Michelle,Clos du Val, Constellation Brands, E. & J. Gallo, Fetzer, ForestVille,Freemark
Abbey, grocery store, Kendall-Jackson, Landmark Overlook,Qupé, Ravenswood, Robert Mondavi, Rodney
Strong, Safeway, Sutter Home, Treasury Wine Estates, Turning Leaf
by Richard Jennings
some of the more elaborate & colorful grocery store Chardonnay packaging
This is a report on 230 domestic Chardonnays representative of what can be found on grocery store
shelves in Northern California. Many of these Chardonnays can be found in grocery stores in the 35 states
in the U.S. where wine sales at such stores are permitted.
This report includes detailed tasting notes, ratings both by price range and alphabetically, an assessment
of alcohol levels and styles of wine available, and a look at that fact that over 37% of the 230 wines rated
are owned by only eight wine firms.
I selected Chardonnay as the varietal to examine for this report since it’s both the most widely represented
wine grape varietal in grocery stores (approximately 10% of varietal wines) and the most widely planted
wine grape in California. It’s also one of the world’s premier grape varieties, capable under ideal
conditions of producing sublime and long aging wines as well as vast quantities of perfectly adequate raw
material that is highly manipulable through winemaking techniques. From everything I’ve reviewed in
researching for this report, this is the first time such a comprehensive critical tasting and analysis has
been done of widely distributed grocery store Chardonnays.
Some of the insights I gained from this survey can be summarized briefly as follows:
• My scores on these wines ranged widely, from 75 to 92 points
• My average score was 85.8 points (i.e., slightly above average)
• Prices ranged from $3 to $41 before sales tax
• Very drinkable (86 to 87 point) wines can be obtained for as low as $7-9
• While high QPR (quality price ratio) wines can be found at virtually all price points, the highest rated
wines (92 and 91+ points) can be found at the $15-20, $20-25 and $30-and-above price ranges
• The $26-30 range contains surprisingly few highly rated wines
• Three U.S. wine firms are responsible for nearly 17% of these wines, and the top eight wine firms own
over 37% of these labels
• Nearly 16% of these grocery store Chardonnays exhibited relatively high residual sugar (sweetness)
• Less than 14% of these wines were bottled under screwcap
• 6% of the wines were affected by TCA and/or oxidation
Background
Cupertino Safeway’s wine section
For years people who know I rate and write about wines have asked me what to buy when they are at a
grocery store or supermarket. I’ve always responded that supermarkets and grocery stores are not the
place to buy wine.
To be in distribution at such large volume outlets means the wine has been made in sufficiently large
quantities to justify their place on the shelf. Top quality, artisanal wines are made in relatively small
quantities, from very limited fruit sources, so simply can’t be produced in the quantities required by
nationwide chain stores. Therefore, if you’re looking for highly rated, artisanal wines, you are not going to
find them in a grocery aisle.
Supermarkets also rarely have on hand someone knowledgeable about wine and what they carry to offer
advice and counsel. The best place to purchase fine wine is a dedicated wine store, where they typically
stock a hand selected inventory featuring a range of excellent wines and employ knowledgeable staff that
can guide your selection.
Moreover, such outlets often turn the stocking of their shelves over to one or more of the country’s major
wine and spirits distributors, meaning that although there may be dozens of labels on the shelf, many of
them are owned by or in the portfolio of Constellation, E&J Gallo, The Wine Group or one of the other
major wine firms.
Nonetheless, having received the same request from numerous friends and acquaintances over the years,
and finding myself in the past year visiting smaller cities and towns that lacked easily accessible wine
retailers, I decided to see if there were choices available at a typical grocery store that I might be able to
recommend. I was also curious as to whether the increasing quality level we’ve seen in artisanal California
Chardonnay in recent years might be having any influence on the quality level of mass market
Chardonnay, or whether sweet and oaky styles of Chardonnay that have tended to be popular at the mass
market level would continue to predominate.
The Lucky Store in Sunnyvale I regularly visit had a wine sale last Fall—buy four and save 10%—so that
motivated me to take the plunge and see what their wine shelves had to offer. It turned out Safeway had a
similar sale going, offering 30% off if you bought four or more bottles. Since the Safeway in Cupertino has
the widest selection of any in Silicon Valley, that gave me a lot of labels to sample. I filled out the range of
what’s available at grocery stores locally by buying up the several domestic Chardonnay labels on hand at
the Mountain View Costco I hadn’t seen at Lucky or Safeway.
Chardonnay shelves at Lucky
I was fortunate to have received samples of some of the Chardonnays I saw at grocery stores from
producers over the past year, so I could rely on my notes and scores on those wines for a small percentage
of my survey. For the most part, though, I bought a dozen or more bottles at a time from the stores listed
above, and proceeded to taste through them several nights a week over a three month period. The project
ended up costing me close to $4,000 in wine purchases, but I learned a lot from the survey and hope my
findings will prove valuable to others.
TCA, Oxidation and Bottle Closures
TCA–short for 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole–is a chemical compound ubiquitous in nature and frequently found
in natural cork that imparts a “moldy newspaper” or “wet dog” odor and off taste to affected wines. Wine
connoisseurs refer to wines with evident TCA contamination as “corked.” Because TCA and premature
oxidation, particularly of white wines, is still a major problem, despite natural cork producers’ best efforts
to bring the percentage of tainted cork down, I inevitably ended up with a number of faulty bottles—either
corked or severely oxidized current releases. This was true of 6% of what I tasted. These I returned to the
store for a replacement so I could sample a clean bottle.
I wish more consumers would return wines that are faulty due to contaminated or particularly porous
natural corks. If so, wine producers and distributors might be motivated to switch all the more quickly to
one of the many good alternative closures available that don’t run the risk of leaving consumers with a
tainted or prematurely oxidized wine. Unfortunately, though, I knew I was in a tiny minority of grocery
store wine buyers when I brought these bottles, with most of the wine still intact, back to the store and
had to explain to the store manager or assistant manager why I was returning them. These personnel
usually reacted as though I was the first person ever to return faulty wine. Nonetheless, they all agreed to
let me have a replacement bottle, especially when I pointed out to them the volume of my recent wine
purchases there.
To be fair, many consumers just don’t know have enough experience with wine to realize that a bottle with
a funky smell or attenuated taste on the palate has been tainted as a result of problems with its closure. So
rather than return it to see if another bottle smells and tastes better, they typically just avoid that wine in
the future.
The bottom line is there is no reason why grocery store Chardonnay should be sealed under natural cork,
except for the fact that many American consumers (unlike consumers in Australia, New Zealand, and
increasing numbers of Europeans) continue to expect “fine wine” to have a cork closure. These are not
wines meant for aging, and it is appalling that 6% of the bottles I tried had severe faults attributable to
their cork closures. Only 14% of the wines in this survey were bottled under screw cap, which is an
alternative closure that will not impart TCA to a wine and that will help prevent premature oxidation.
We’d all be better off if wines like these were bottled under screw cap or other good, non-natural cork
closures.
Grocery Store Merchandising
expensive top shelf wines at Lucky
From my visits to the grocery stores mentioned above, and to others—like Raley’s Nob Hill Foods—just to
see there weren’t labels stocked there that I hadn’t tried from my primary sources, I got to learn
something about retail wine merchandising.
Firstly, at each store, the highest priced wines can be found on the very top shelf. At immediate eye level,
these pricey offerings dominate a casual consumer’s view. The very cheapest bottlings are placed on the
bottommost shelf—making them hard to view easily if you’re not hunting for wines priced at that level.
The remaining shelves in between contain a mix of wines at different price points, and generally
decreasing prices as you proceed from top shelf to bottom. Sometimes the wines in the middle are in
alphabetical or appellation order, and sometimes in no real discernable order at all.
I also found that, like shopping for dairy products and other perishable goods at grocery stores, it’s
important to check the “sell by” dates by looking at all the containers available, including those toward the
back of the shelf. In the case of white wine, that means paying attention to the vintage. Since premature
oxidation is a real problem with wines sealed under cork, it is best to search to make sure you are getting
the most recent vintage of the wine a store has available. I found that often there are two or more vintages
of a particular wine on hand, with the more recent vintage placed in back of the older bottles.
Wine Label Ownership/Distribution
expansive Chardonnay selection at Safeway Cupertino
According to a 2012 study of concentration in the U.S. wine industry published by Michigan State
University, three firms account for more than half the wine sales in the U.S. In the study’s report on the
inventory of 20 Michigan retailers, they also found that the top six firms accounted for 21.9% of the total
inventory on wine shelves there. The study claimed that the top firms “each contribute to an illusion of
diverse ownership by offering dozens of brands . . . many of which do not clearly indicate the parent
company on their label.” They found this illusion of diverse ownership strongest at chain drug stores, like
CVS and Rite Aid, that “offered more than one hundred unique varieties, but the majority were supplied
by E. & J. Gallo or Constellation Brands.” This phenomenon is also increasingly apparent at some grocery
store chains, such as Kroger, which announced in January this year that it planned to hire Southern Wine
& Spirits to oversee how it distributes shelf space to alcohol brands.
According to data for last year (i.e., before Treasury Wine Estate’s recent acquisition of the Diageo wine
brands), the top three domestic wine producers, who split over half of U.S. total wine sales between them,
were E. & J. Gallo, The Wine Group and Constellation Brands. The next five in order were Trinchero,
Bronco, Treasury, Delicato and Kendall-Jackson.
Of the 230 wines I found at local grocery stores, 16.96% were owned by one of the top three wine firms.
Together, the top eight wine firms accounted for 37.39% of the wine labels available at local supermarkets.
And these percentages are probably significantly lower than at an average supermarket, since the
Cupertino Safeway where I found the greatest variety of labels stocks an unusually high number of
bottlings from local and independent producers.
In the listings at the end of this report, I identify the major ownership group, if there is one, in brackets
following the name of the wine.
Top Rated Wines by Price Point
The dollar prices used below are based on the average sales price, before tax, reported for the wines
nationwide on Wine-Searcher.com, the most comprehensive source for this info available online. In each
grouping by price point, I’ve listed the wines from highest to lowest rating, and within each rating point,
in order of lowest to highest price.
I was happy to find that very drinkable, good quality wines can be found for as low as $6 to $9 at
supermarkets. I found 15 wines at this price level. My top recommendation at this price point is
Ravenswood Vintners Blend (Constellation Wines) at 87 points. This wine has good varietal character and
is balanced, meaning that it has good balancing acidity. I bought it for $7 at Safeway and Wine-searcher
shows it averaging $9 throughout the country, where it is widely available. Also decent values are Bogle
Vineyards and The Seeker, both at 86 points and averaging $9 a bottle.
In the under $6 range, my highest rating was 85+ points for ForestVille from Bronco Wine Estates. The
other nine Chards at this level, priced between $3 and $5.99, ranged in scores from 76 to 83 points. I’d be
hard pressed to recommend any of those wines, nearly all of which are non-vintage bottlings sourced from
grapes throughout California (i.e., with no appellation identified except “California”). This is also a fast
shrinking category, as market reports the last few years have shown consumers have been trading up from
this price point to wines priced at $10 and higher.
In the $10 to $12 price range, the number of available labels jumped to 39. The highest rated for me, at 87
points, was Chateau Ste. Michelle from Washington State, at an average price of $10. Also close behind, at
86+ points, were A by Acacia and the 2012 bottling of Lucinda & Millie from California’s Mendocino
County. I rated another four wines at this price point 86 points.
My scores start to climb at the $13 to $15 level—consisting of 42 wines–with two 89 point wines, Rodney
Strong ($13) and Foxglove ($14). The Simi ($14) was close behind at 88+ points followed by the Jamieson
Ranch Light Horse ($13) at 88 points. I rated another three wines at this level 87 to 87+ points and 10
wines from 86 to 86+ points.
My scores climb again at the $16 to $19 range, with the Alma Rosa Santa Barbara County bottling ($19)
meriting 91+ points and Cambria Katherine’s Vineyard ($17) from Santa Barbara’s Santa Maria Valley
scoring 91 points. For those looking for high quality wines at relatively affordable prices, these are strong
showings, both offering complexity and good balance for under $20. I found a total of 42 wines at this
price point and rated another three 90 to 90+ points, and two more each 89 and 88 points.
The largest number of wines at any price point, a total of 43, were found at the $20-25 level, along with
one of my highest scoring wines, at 92 points–the admirable, minerally Au Bon Climat ($21). Even though
I was delighted to find that wine at Safeway Cupertino, I doubt it is available at many grocery stores
throughout the country. More widely available and meriting 91+ points are the very satisfying Clos du Val
Carneros appellation and Landmark Overlook from Sonoma County, both averaging $23. Another three
wines at this level scored 91 points (Gundlach Bundschu, Beringer and Freemark Abbey) while seven
more came in at 90 to 90+ points.
As mentioned above, the showing of wines priced from $26-$29 was relatively disappointing, with only
one (Stags’ Leap) meriting 90+ points, another two 89 points and four 88 points among 14 wines total at
this level.
The highest price range found at the grocery stores, $30 and up, actually ranged to $41 before tax. Of 24
wines at this price level, three merited 92 points: Qupe Bien Nacido Block 11 ($30), Jordan Russian River
Valley ($31) and Frank Family Napa Valley ($34). Five more scored 91 to 91+ points, and another five
merited 90 to 90+ points.
The complete ratings (along with tasting notes) at each price point, as well as alphabetically by wine, can
be found at the end of this report.
Pure Chardonnay?
At the low end of the market, one can be pretty sure producers are taking advantage of the fact that
Federal and California law allow a wine to be labeled as being of a particular varietal, e.g., Chardonnay, as
long as 75% of the grapes used were that variety. Since Chardonnay grapes tend to fetch higher prices than
other white grapes, producers of wines at lower price points can keep production costs down by blending
in less sought after varieties, such as French Colombard and Sauvignon Blanc.
Producers are not required by law to state the other grapes that might make up as much as 25% of the
blend, so that information generally does not appear on labels of low priced Chardonnays. It can also be
hard to find even on the tech sheets on producer websites. For the non-vintage Chardonnays, it makes
sense that a producer wouldn’t want to be limited in what other grapes they incorporate in a given bottling
of “Chardonnay.” Nonetheless, I did find information on blends in a few cases, which give us an idea of
what’s being used in Chardonnays at that price level.
The 2013 ForestVille, my top ranked wine at the $6 and under level, is identified on the Bronco Wine Co.
website as a blend of Chardonnay, “French Colombard, Muscat and Mixed Varietals.” The Seeker (86
points, $9) is mainly Chardonnay with 5% Gewurztraminer. Beaulieu (85 points, $9) contains 5%
Viognier. Fetzer Sundial (84 points, $7), a top seller, was a blend in 2013 of 89% Chardonnay, 5%
Viognier, 3% Chenin Blanc, 2% Pinot Grigio and 1% Sauvignon Blanc. The 2014 Guenoc contains 10%
Sauvignon Blanc. Finally Woodbridge, another huge seller (83+ points, $7), does not currently identify
the blend, but the tech sheet for the 2011 on the Woodbridge website describes the cuvee as 76%
Chardonnay, 18% French Colombard, 3% Viognier, and 3% “a proprietary blend of aromatic varietals.”
One can be pretty sure that wines priced at $15 and higher are going to be 100% Chardonnay, and many
clearly state that on their tech sheets. For the lower priced wines that are blends, the other grapes are
likely to contribute to the aromas and flavors in ways that explain why many varietal bottlings at lower
price levels tend to lack clear varietal character.
Alcohol, Balance and Style
At the $6 and under level, one finds relatively low alcohol wines, ranging from 11.5% to 13.87 and
averaging 12.95%. This is both because the juice for wines at this level tends to come from less ripe, less
premium grapes, and because some of the wines are not fermented all the way to dry, so as to retain some
of the grape sugar for sweetness. This residual grape sugar would otherwise have been converted to
alcohol, raising the alcohol level more to the standard found in California—13.5 to 14.5%. This was the
case, for example, with the Turning Leaf (11.5% alcohol) and the Safeway private label Quail Oak (12.5%).
There was a time ten and 15 years ago when oaky and sweet Chardonnays were particularly popular. The
Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay, for example, which was one of California’s biggest selling Chardonnays for
some years, was intentionally made with close to 1% residual sugar. Today the residual sugar level in
Kendall-Jackson’s Chards has reportedly dropped to half that.
One sees an increase in alcohol levels at the $6 to $9 price point, where the reported alcohol level
averages 13.5%, and again at the $10 to $12 level (13.58% average) and $13 to $15 (13.73%). Alcohol levels
generally continue to rise with price, except for a slight dip at the $26 to $29 range, as follows: 13.89%
average from $16 to $19, 14.16% from $20-25, 14.06% at $26-29, and 14.14% for wines $30 and up.
I think balanced wines can be made at a variety of alcohol levels. What’s important for balance in white
wines in particular is the acidity level. The acidity—ranging from virtually nil to medium in the case of
these grocery store Chardonnays—was a major factor in my rating. Wines with very little acidity are hard
to pair with food and quickly get tiresome on the palate. Some sweetness, if that’s the style of wine one
enjoys, can be fine as long as there is balancing acidity to keep the wine lively on the palate.
Another important factor in my ratings is the complexity of the wine, both on the nose and in the mouth.
A wine that shows only one flavor can, like a wine without acidity, get pretty boring after a few sips. Wines
that have complexity of aromas and flavors keep one coming back to experience that variety of flavors and
their nuances.
Finally, as I’ve written before here, Chardonnay is a malleable grape that can be made in a variety of
styles. Unoaked Chardonnays have become more popular in recent years, and the better examples of those
tend to highlight the pure citrus and/or stone fruit, often showing admirable acidity. Different oak
treatments can also have a marked effect on Chardonnay, adding everything from savory, toast, hazelnut
and almond notes to heavier, butter and popcorn flavors.
There’s definitely a market for buttery types of Chardonnay, and many of these grocery store Chardonnays
exhibited that character. My best recommendations for balanced wines in that style are Rodney Strong
(89 points, $13), Cambria Katherine’s Vineyard (91 points, $17), Nottingham Cellars (90+ points, $24)
and Stags’ Leap (90+ points, $26).
The wine that most reminded me of a crisp, minerally white Burgundy was the Jordan Russian River
Valley. I scored it 92 points, but it is pretty pricey for a grocery store wine at $33.
For wines in the unoaked, clean style emphasizing citrus, apple and/or pear fruit, I can recommend A by
Acacia-Unoaked (86+ points, $11) and Foxglove (89 points, $14).
For a combination of complexity of flavors and bright balancing acidity, my top picks are, at increasing
price levels: Ravenswood Vintners Blend (87 points, $9), Chateau Ste. Michelle (87 points, $10), Alma
Rosa (91+ points, $19), Clos du Val Carneros (91+ points, $23), Landmark Overlook (91+ points, $23),
and Freemark Abbey (91 points, $24).
Final Notes
As a result of this survey, I am happy to have a number of Chardonnays to recommend to people who have
occasion to buy wine at a supermarket. I did not, however, find much influence of the increasing quality
level of artisanal California Chardonnays on these more mass market offerings. Sweet and very oak driven
styles continue to be dominant, often without the balance that would make such wines at least somewhat
palatable. My scores overall, even on fairly high priced wines, were significantly lower than I hoped, with a
number of notable exceptions at the 90 to 92 point level.
I look forward to thoughts and comments on this report, and ideas on how future such reports could be
made more useful for consumers. My intention is to continue the project, probably moving on next to the
second most dominant wine variety found in grocery stores—Cabernet Sauvignon. I’ve added a PayPal
donation button to the right side of the website in case you are inclined to contribute toward continuing
this project. Money raised through such contributions will be used to continue buying and rating wines
that are widely available at grocery stores and similar outlets throughout the country.
$6 and Under
•
2013 ForestVille Chardonnay California [Bronco Wine Co.] $6.00
Light yellow color; apple, baked apple, pear syrup nose; juicy, pear, apple, spice palate with some
balancing acidity; medium finish (blend of Chardonnay, French Colombard, Muscat and “Mixed
Varietals”; 12.5% alcohol; 1st bottle had TCA, this was replacement bottle) 85+ points
•
2014 Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay California [Treasury Wine Estates] $6.00
Light straw yellow color; apple, pear nose; apple, pear palate with low acidity; medium finish (13.7%
alcohol) 83 points
•
NV Rex Goliath Chardonnay Giant 47 Pound Rooster California, Central Coast [Constellation
Brands] $6.00
Light yellow color; baked apple, nutmeg nose; simple, baked apple, pear nectar palate with a touch of
residual sugar; short medium finish (13% alcohol) 83 points
•
NV Turning Leaf Chardonnay California [E&J Gallo] $6.00
Light yellow color; tart apple, apple turnover, vanilla nose; simple, ripe apple, baked apple palate with
residual sugar and low acidity; short finish (11.5% alcohol) 82 points
•
NV Sutter Home Winery Chardonnay California [Trinchero Family Estates] $4.00
Light yellow color; apple, baking spice nose; one-dimensional, apple, baking spice palate with slight
balancing acidity; short-medium finish (13% alcohol) 82 points
•
NV Barefoot Cellars Chardonnay California [E&J Gallo] $6.00
Very light yellow color; ripe green apple, lime aid nose; ripe green apple, lime aid palate with residual
sugar and slight balancing acidity; short finish (13% alcohol) 80 points
•
NV Flipflop Wines Chardonnay California [The Wine Group]
Light yellow color; ripe peach, light banana nose; ripe peach, confectioner sugar palate with little
balancing acidity; short-medium finish (13% alcohol) 79 points
•
NV The Naked Grape Chardonnay California [E&J Gallo] $6.00
Light straw yellow color; honeysuckle, ripe pear, candy apple nose; juicy, candy apple, pear juice palate
with low acidity; short finish (13.5% alcohol; label says Naked Truth #6) $6.00 79 points
•
NV Quail Oak Vineyards Chardonnay California [Safeway private label] $3.00
Light yellow color; pear nectar, baked apricot, mango nose; pear nectar, baked apricot palate with no
acidity and residual sugar; short-medium finish (12.5% alcohol) 78 points
•
2012 Spin The Bottle Cellars Chardonnay (Terravant) California $6.00
Light straw yellow color; baked apple, butter, oak nose; flabby, one-note, baked apple palate with
residual sugar and low acidity; short finish (13.8% alcohol) 76 points
$7 to $9
•
2013 Ravenswood Chardonnay Vintners Blend California [Constellation Brands] $9.00
Light straw yellow color; baked pear, pear pastry filling, vanilla nose; tasty, poised, tart pear, pear pastry
filling palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 87 points
•
2013 Bogle Vineyards Chardonnay California $9.00
Light yellow color; pear, apple, oak nose; tart pear, vanilla, apple, oak palate with some balancing
acidity; medium finish (13.5 alcohol; 9 months in American oak, 50% new) 86 points
•
2011 The Seeker Chardonnay California [Kobrand] $9.00
Light yellow color; tart citrus nose; tart citrus palate; medium finish (95% Chardonnay, 5%
Gewurztraminer; 13.3% alcohol) 86 points
•
2013 Gnarly Head Chardonnay California [Delicato Family Vyds] $7.00
Light yellow color; vanilla, baked apple, nutmeg nose; medium bodied, simple, baked apple, vanilla,
baked pear palate with some balancing acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 85 points
•
2012 Beaulieu Vineyard Chardonnay Coastal Estates California [Treasury Wine Estates] $9.00
Light yellow color; oak, sauteed pear, butter, baking spice nose; oak, toast, pear, spice palate with some
balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (95% Chardonnay, 5% Viognier; 13.5% alcohol) 85 points
•
2013 Dark Horse Wines Chardonnay The Original California [E&J Gallo] $9.00
Light straw yellow color; applesauce, light vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg nose; medium bodied, rich, baked
pear, nutmeg palate with low acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 85 points
•
2013 Three Thieves Chardonnay California [Trinchero Family Estates] $9.00
Light yellow color; apple, pear cream nose; apple, pear cream palate with low acidity; medium finish
(13.5% alcohol) 85 points
•
2013 Fetzer Chardonnay Sundial California [Vina Concha y Toro S.A.] $7.00
Light straw yellow color; apple, pear, baked apple nose; apple, pear palate with low acidity; medium
finish (89% Chardonnay, 5% Viognier, 3% Chenin Blanc, 2% Pinot Grigio, 1% Sauvignon Blanc; 13.5%
alcohol) 84 points
•
2014 Woodbridge Chardonnay California [Constellation Brands] $7.00
Light yellow color; pineapple, apple nose; apple gelee, lemon, oak palate with some balancing acidity;
short-medium finish (on the Woodbridge website, the only vintage for which there is tech info is 2011,
where the blend was 76% Chardonnay, 18% French Colombard, 3% Viognier and 3% “proprietary blend
of aromatic varietals”; the RS that vintage was 0.3%; 13.5% alcohol) 83+ points
•
2013 A Crisp Cellars Chardonnay (Luna) California $9.00
Light straw yellow color; mango, tart apple, light reduction nose; apple, pear palate with low acidity;
short finish (14.6% alcohol) 83 points
•
2013 Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Founders’ Estate California [Treasury Wine Estates]
$9.00
Light yellow color; guava, green melon, lime cream nose; guava, green apple, lime cream palate with low
acidity; short-medium finish (13.9% alcohol) 83 points
•
2013 Blackstone Winery Chardonnay Winemaker’s Select California, Central Coast, Monterey
County [Constellation Brands] $9.00
Light yellow color; mango, butter sauce nose; sweet butter, pineapple syrup palate with lots of residual
sugar; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 83 points
•
2013 Smoking Loon Chardonnay Steelbird California [Don Sebastiani & Sons] $9.00
Light yellow color; lemon, light vanilla, pear nose; medium bodied, pear, ripe apple palate with low
•
2012 Smoking Loon Chardonnay California [Don Sebastiani & Sons] $9.00
Light yellow color; butter, apple nose; apple, butter palate with low acidity; medium finish (13.5%
alcohol) 82 points
•
2014 Guenoc Chardonnay California [Foley Food & Wine Society] $9.00
Light yellow color; reduction, green apple, lime nose; medium bodied, single note, green apple palate
with lowish acidity; short finish (90% Chardonnay, 10% Sauvignon Blanc; 13.5% alcohol) 81 points
•
2012 Belle Ambiance Family Vineyards Chardonnay California [Delicato Family Vyds] $9.00
Light yellow color; baked apple, tart peach nose; insipid, ripe peach palate with low acidity; medium
finish (13.5% alcohol) 80 points
$10 to $12
•
2014 Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay Washington, Columbia Valley [Ste. Michelle Wine
Estates] $10.00
Light straw yellow color; vanilla, ripe pear, apple cream, butter nose; rich, creamy textured, ripe pear,
vanilla palate with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14% alcohol) 87 points
•
2014 A by Acacia–Unoaked Chardonnay California [Treasury Wine Estates] $11.00
Light straw yellow color; appealing, tart apple, pear gelee nose; apple, ripe lemon, grapefruit palate with
near medium acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 86+ points
•
2012 Lucinda & Millie Chardonnay California, North Coast, Mendocino County [V2 Wine Group]
$11.00
Light straw yellow color; apple, baked apple, vanilla nose; medium bodied, ripe apple, baked pear, light
vanilla palate; medium finish (14.5% alcohol) 86+ points
•
2013 Magnolia Court Chardonnay California, Central Coast [Southern Wine & Spirits] $10.00
Light medium yellow color; aromatic, ripe pear, baked apple nose; baked pear, mineral, apple palate
with some balancing acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 86 points
•
2012 14 Hands Chardonnay – Unoaked Chardonnay Washington [Ste. Michelle Wine Estates]
$11.00
Light yellow color; oak, apple juice, almond, toasted pecan nose; pear, baked apple palate with good
balancing acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 86 points
•
2014 Avalon Chardonnay California [Purple Wine Co.] $11.00
Light yellow color; apple, tart pear nose; juicy, tart pear, tart apple, spice palate with good balancing
acidity; medium finish (13.8% alcohol; a pretty honest $10 Chardonnay) 86 points
•
2012 Four Vines Chardonnay Naked Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara
County [Purple Wine Co.] $11.00
Light yellow color; pie crust, tart apple nose; juicy, tart apple, green pear palate; medium finish (13.9%
alcohol) 86 points
•
2013 Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay Washington, Columbia Valley [Ste. Michelle Wine
Estates] $10.00
Light straw yellow color; baked apple, vanilla, nutmeg nose; baked apple, vanilla, nutmeg palate with
lowish acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2013 Columbia Crest Chardonnay Grand Estates Washington, Columbia Valley [Ste. Michelle
Wine Estates] $10.00
Light straw yellow color; vanilla, apple pie filling, nutmeg, baking spice nose; vanilla, baked apple, apple
pie filling, nutmeg palate with lowish acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2013 Once Upon a Vine Chardonnay The Fairest California, Sonoma County [Treasury Wine
Estates] $11.00
Light straw yellow color; tart apple, tart pear, butter, light toast nose; juicy, apple, tart pear, butter
palate with some balancing acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2013 Toasted Head Chardonnay Barrel Aged (R.H. Phillips) California [Constellation Brands]
$11.00
Light yellow color; pear, pear cream, vanilla nose; vanilla, pear cream palate; medium finish (14%
alcohol) 85+ points
•
2013 Cupcake Vineyards Chardonnay Central Coast California, Central Coast [The Wine Group]
$10.00
Light yellow color; pear, butter nose; pear, butter palate with some balancing acidity; medium finish
•
2013 Estancia Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Monterey County [Constellation Brands]
$10.00
Light yellow color; apple, butter nose; apple, butter palate with lowish acidity; medium finish (13.5%
alcohol) 85 points
•
2013 Clos du Bois Chardonnay California [Constellation Brands] $11.00
Light yellow color; ripe peach, pear, sweet butter, vanilla nose; sweet butter, pear, vanilla palate with
some balancing acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 85 points
•
2014 Myka Cellars Chardonnay Mitzi California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains $11.00
Light yellow color; apple, baked apple, apple butter nose; tart apple, baked pear palate with some
•
2013 Hahn Chardonnay Monterey County California, Central Coast, Monterey County $12.00
Light straw yellow color; savory, almond, lemon, sesame seed nose; medium bodied, green pear,
almond, sesame seed palate with some balancing acidity; medium finish (14.5% alcohol) 85 points
•
2014 Hogue Cellars Chardonnay Washington, Columbia Valley [Constellation Brands] $10.00
Light yellow color; pear, applesauce nose; pear, applesauce palate with near medium acidity; mediumplus finish (13.5% alcohol) 84+ points
•
2013 Save Me, San Francisco Wine Co. Chardonnay Calling All Angels California, Napa Valley
[The Wine Group] $10.00
Light yellow color; baked apple, ripe peach, nutmeg nose; apple, peach palate with low acidity; medium
•
2012 Seaglass Chardonnay Unoaked California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County [Trinchero
Family Estates] $10.00
Light straw yellow color; tart baked apple, applesauce nose; simple, one-note, tart baked apple palate
•
2013 Sterling Vineyards Chardonnay Vintner’s Collection California, Central Coast [Treasury
Light yellow color; pineapple, papaya, vanilla nose; pineapple, papaya, mango palate with some acidity
and noticeable residual sugar; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 84 points
•
2013 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Bijou California [Treasury Wine Estates] $11.00
Light yellow color; vanilla, vanilla cream, creme caramel nose; vanilla, vanilla cream, creme caramel
palate with low acidity; medium finish (13.4% alcohol) 84 points
•
2013 Edna Valley Vineyard Chardonnay Central Coast California, Central Coast [E&J Gallo]
$11.00
Light straw yellow color; mango, papaya, vanilla nose; dull, pear, mango palate with some balancing
acid; medium finish (13.8% alcohol) 84 points
•
2014 Kenwood Chardonnay Sonoma County California, Sonoma County [Pernod Ricard] $11.00
Light yellow color; pear, apple, vanilla, butterscotch nose; pear, apple, butter palate with lowish acidity;
medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 84 points
•
2013 Parducci Chardonnay Small Lot Blend California, North Coast, Mendocino County $11.00
Light straw yellow color; tart apple, nectarine nose; juicy, ripe apple, nectarine palate with lowish
acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 84 points
•
2013 The Hess Collection Chardonnay Hess Select California, Central Coast, Monterey $11.00
Light medium yellow color; ripe pear, vanilla, spice nose; pear, apple pie, honey, orange cream palate
with low acidity and apparent residual sugar; medium finish (13.3% alcohol) 84 points
•
2014 De Loach Chardonnay Heritage Reserve California [Boisset Collection] $10.00
Light yellow color; reduction, mango, lemon cream nose; lemon, reduction, mango palate with some
•
2012 Francis Ford Coppola Chardonnay Rosso & Bianco California $10.00
Light yellow color; reduction, ripe lemon, butter nose; near medium bodied, reduction, ripe grapefruit,
tart apple palate with some balancing acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 83 points
•
2013 HandCraft Chardonnay California [Delicato Family Vyds] $10.00
Light straw yellow color; ripe apple, apple juice nose; ripe apple, apple juice palate with low acidity;
medium finish (13% alcohol) 83 points
•
2014 Meridian Vineyards Chardonnay California California [Treasury Wine Estates] $10.00
Light yellow color; pineapple, ripe apple nose; ripe apple, pear, pineapple palate with some balancing
acidity; short finish (13.5% alcohol) 83 points
•
2014 Robert Mondavi Winery Chardonnay Private Selection California [Constellation Brands]
$10.00
Light straw yellow color; apple, apple cream nose; apple, apple cream palate with low acidity; medium
•
2013 Cartlidge & Browne Chardonnay California, North Coast [Vintage Wine Estates] $11.00
Light yellow color; guava, apple nose; ripe apple, guava, lime cream palate with some balancing acidity
and noticeable residual sugar; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 83 points
•
2013 Mark West Chardonnay California California [Constellation Brands] $11.00
Light yellow color; apple, baked pear, vanilla nose; baked pear, vanilla palate with low acidity; shortmedium finish (13.5% alcohol) 83 points
•
2013 Woodwork Wines Chardonnay Batch No. 12 California, Central Coast [Treasury Wine
Estates] $11.00
Light straw yellow color; butter, oak, pie spice, vanilla nose; medium bodied, vanilla, baked pear, pie
spice, oak palate with low acidity; short-medium finish (13% alcohol) 83 points
•
2013 The Other Guys Chardonnay Leese-Fitch California $10.00
Light straw yellow color; baked pear, apple nose; baked pear, light reduction, apple palate with some
balancing acidity; short-medium finish (13.8% alcohol) 82+ points
•
2012 Folie à Deux Chardonnay Ménage à Trois White California [Trinchero Family Estates]
$10.00
Light straw yellow color; butterscotch, baked apple, vanilla, lemon cream nose; butterscotch, vanilla,
baked apple palate with virtually no acidity; medium finish (13.9% alcohol) 82 points
•
2012 Mirassou Vineyards Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Monterey County [E&J Gallo]
$10.00
Light straw yellow color; apple butter, baked apple, pie spice nose; blowsy, baked apple, apple butter
palate with low acidity; short-medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 82 points
•
2014 Firefly Ridge Chardonnay California, Central Coast [Safeway private label] $10.00
Light straw yellow color; candied apple, pear nectar nose; confected, apple gelee, pear nectar palate with
low acidity and apparent residual sugar; short finish (13.5% alcohol) 79 points
•
2014 Concannon Vineyard Chardonnay Selected Vineyards California [The Wine Group]
$10.00
Light yellow color; ripe pear, apple juice, applesauce nose; flabby, applesauce, pear juice palate with low
acidity and noticeable residual sugar; short finish (13.5% alcohol) 77 points
•
2012 The Great American Wine Company by Rosenblum Chardonnay California, Sonoma
County [Treasury Wine Estates] $10.00
Light straw yellow color; oak, mango, green papaya, reduction nose; mango, ripe papaya palate with low
$13 to $15
•
2013 Rodney Strong Chardonnay Sonoma Coast California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
$13.00
Light yellow color; savory, butter, hazelnut cream, nutmeg nose; tasty, hazelnut cream, tart pear,
nutmeg palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 89
•
2013 Foxglove Chardonnay Central Coast (Varner) California, Central Coast $14.00
Light lemon yellow color; ripe kumquat, fresh lemon nose; rich, medium bodied, lemon, lemon cream,
pear cream palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.7% alcohol) 89 points
•
2013 Simi Chardonnay California, Sonoma County [Constellation Brands] $14.00
Light yellow color; lifted, tart pear, tart apple, spice, light nutmeg nose; tasty, poised, tart pear, lemon
gelee palate with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 88+ points
•
2013 Jamieson Ranch Vineyards Chardonnay Light Horse California $13.00
Light yellow color; lemon gelee, pear gelee nose; light-medium bodied, tart lemon gelee, pear gelee
palate; medium finish (13.9% alcohol) 88 points
•
2012 True Myth Chardonnay Paragon Vineyard California, Central Coast, Edna Valley $14.00
Light yellow color; ripe pear, baked apple, apple pie filling nose; tart pear, tart apple palate with good
acidity; short-medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 87+
•
2013 Kirkland Signature Chardonnay Signature Series Russian River Valley California,
Sonoma County, Russian River Valley [Costco private label] $13.00
Light yellow color; savory, lemon cream, vanilla nose; medium bodied, creamy textured, lemon cream,
vanilla palate with noticeable residual sugar; medium-plus finish (14.1% alcohol) 87 points
•
2013 St. Francis Chardonnay California, Sonoma County [Kobrand] $13.00
Light straw yellow color; lemon cream, apple pie filling, vanilla nose; flamboyant, creamy textured,
lemon gelee, butter poached pear palate with some balancing acidity; medium finish (14.5% alcohol)87
points
•
2014 Clos LaChance Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Monterey County $13.00
Light straw yellow color; baked pear, apple, pear nectar, pie spice nose; pear nectar, apple, pie spice
palate with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 86+ points
•
2013 Tom Gore Vineyards Chardonnay California, Central Coast $13.00
Light yellow color; almond, hazelnut, honey butter nose; almond cream, light hazelnut, vanilla palate
with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 86+ points
•
2014 Wente Vineyards Chardonnay Morning Fog Livermore Valley California, San Francisco
Bay, Livermore Valley $13.00
Light yellow color; pear gelee, vanilla nose; pear gelee, vanilla, pear cream palate; medium finish (13.5%
alcohol) 86+ points
•
2013 Joyce Vineyards Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands $14.00
Light yellow color; tart apple, baked apple nose; tart apple, baked apple palate; medium finish (13.5%
alcohol) 86+ points
•
2013 Bonterra Vineyards Chardonnay California, North Coast, Mendocino County [Vina Concha y
Toro S.A.] $13.00
Light yellow color; savory, nutmeg, peach cobbler, apricot, baking spice nose; medium bodied, luscious,
baked peach, lemon gelee, nutmeg palate with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5%
alcohol) 86 points
•
2013 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay California, North Coast [Treasury Wine Estates] $13.00
Light yellow color; savory, toasted almond, oak, baking spice nose; medium bodied, ripe apple, apple
butter palate with some balancing acidity; medium finish (13.4% alcohol) 86 points
•
2013 Toad Hollow Chardonnay Francine’s Selection California, North Coast, Mendocino County
[V2 Wine Group] $13.00
Light yellow color; vanilla, poached pear, apple gelee nose; pear, apple gelee, light vanilla palate with
some balancing acidity; medium finish (13.9% alcohol) 86 points
•
2013 Benziger Family Winery Chardonnay California, Sonoma County [The Wine Group] $14.00
Light yellow color; savory, tart baked apple, butter nose; medium bodied, tart baked apple, lemon cream
palate with near medium acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 86 points
•
2013 Hahn Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
$14.00
Light yellow color; aromatic, ripe pear, floral, honeysuckle, vanilla nose; medium bodied, pear syrup,
peach syrup, orange palate with some balancing acidity and noticeable residual sugar; medium finish
•
2012 William Hill Winery Chardonnay North Coast California, North Coast [E&J Gallo] $14.00
Light medium yellow color; butterscotch, mature, pastry, sweet butter nose; rich, medium bodied, sweet
butter, baked pear palate with lowish acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 86 points
•
2013 Francis Ford Coppola Chardonnay Diamond Collection Gold Label California, Central
Coast, Monterey County $13.00
Light yellow color; oak, apple, butter nose; rich, butter, oak, pear palate with low acidity; medium finish
(13.5% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2013 It’s a HeadSnapper Chardonnay California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley [The Wine
Group] $13.00
Light straw yellow color; savory, butter, nutmeg, vanilla nose; nutmeg, lemon, vanilla palate with some
balancing acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2014 J. Lohr Chardonnay Riverstone California, Central Coast, Arroyo Seco $13.00
Light straw yellow color; apple, almond nose; apple, almond palate with near medium acidity; medium
finish (13.5% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2013 Murphy-Goode Chardonnay California [Jackson Family Wines] $13.00
Light yellow color; butter, pear nose; butter, pear palate with medium acidity; medium finish (13.5%
alcohol) 85+ points
•
2013 Picket Fence Chardonnay California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley [Bronco Wine Co.]
$13.00
Light lemon yellow color; odd, reduction, peanut oil nose; near medium bodied, lemon, peanut oil,
safflower oil palate with some balancing acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2014 Benziger Family Winery Chardonnay California, Sonoma County [The Wine Group] $14.00
Light yellow color; lemon, apple, pear nose; tasty, vanilla, lemon, apple, pear palate; medium finish
•
2013 Pure Love Wines Chardonnay Layer Cake One Hundred Percent Pure California,
Central Coast [Pure Love Wines] $13.00
Light straw yellow color; baked pear, baked apple, pie spice nose; apple gelee, baked pear, oak palate
with some balancing acidity; medium finish (14.5% alcohol) 84+ points
•
2014 Joel Gott Chardonnay Unoaked California [Trinchero Family Estates] $14.00
Light yellow color; apple, nutmeg nose; baked pear, baked apple, pie spice palate with lowish acidity;
medium finish (13.9% alcohol) 84+ points
•
2012 Chloe Wines Chardonnay Chloe California, Sonoma County [The Wine Group] $13.00
Light yellow color; guava, reduction, oak, nutmeg nose; near medium bodied, guava, green apple,
nutmeg palate with lowish acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 84 points
•
2012 Columbia Winery Chardonnay Washington, Columbia Valley [E&J Gallo] $13.00
Light lemon yellow color; apple pie filling, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon custard nose; odd, apple pie
filling, lemon custard palate with lowish acidity; medium finish (89% Chardonnay, 7% Semillon, 3%
Chenin Blanc, 1% Other; 13.9% alcohol) 84 points
•
2013 Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay Avant California [Jackson Family Wines] $13.00
Light yellow color; pear, pear cream nose; pear cream, apple palate; medium finish (13.5% alcohol)84
points
•
2013 Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay Vintner’s Reserve California [Jackson Family Wines]
$13.00
Light straw yellow color; creme caramel, baked apple, nutmeg, vanilla nose; rich, baked pear, creme
caramel, vanilla palate with low acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 84 points
•
2013 Matchbook Chardonnay Old Head (Crew) California, Central Valley, Dunnigan Hills $13.00
Light straw yellow color; butter sauce, pie spice, apricot nose; medium bodied, sweet butter, apricot
palate showing substantial residual sugar; medium finish (13.9% alcohol) 84 points
•
2013 McBride Sisters Chardonnay Truvee California, Central Coast $13.00
Light yellow color; green apple, reduction, lime, green melon, cinnamon nose; ripe green apple, green
melon palate with some balancing acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 84 points
•
2013 Simple Life Winery Chardonnay California [Don Sebastiani & Sons] $13.00
Light straw yellow color; apple, apple cream, lemon chiffon nose; apple cream, ripe pear, lemon cream
palate with some balancing acidity; short-medium finish (93% Chardonnay, 7% Viognier; 13.5% alcohol)
84 points
•
2013 Cameron Hughes Chardonnay CAM Collection California, Central Coast, Monterey County
Light yellow color; reduction, lemon gelee, guava nose; one-dimensional, lemon gelee, guava palate with
low acidity and noticeable residual sugar; medium finish (14.5% alcohol) 84 points
•
2014 Joseph Carr Chardonnay Josh Cellars California $13.00
Light yellow color; apple, apple cream nose; apple, apple cream palate with low acidity; medium finish
•
2013 Seven Daughters Chardonnay California [Terlato Wines] $13.00
Light straw yellow color; applesauce, ripe apple, pie spice nose; light-medium bodied, applesauce, apple
palate with some balancing acidity; tastes watered down though; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 83
points
•
2013 Slow Press Wines Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Monterey County [The Wine Group]
$13.00
Light yellow color; candied apple, caramel nose; medium bodied, apple, peach, caramel palate with low
acidity and noticeable residual sugar; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 83 points
•
2014 Bogle Vineyards Chardonnay Essential California $13.00
Light straw yellow color; baked pear, peach, pie crust nose; juicy, baked pear, ripe peach palate with low
acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 82
•
2013 Curious Beasts Wines Chardonnay California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley [TruettHurst, Inc.] $13.00
Light medium yellow color; oxidized apple, peach nectar nose; sweet, peach syrup, baked apple, pie
spice palate with some balancing acidity and noticeable residual sugar; medium finish (14.5% alcohol)
82 points
•
2013 Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery Chardonnay Sonoma County California, Sonoma County
[Foley Food & Wine Society] $13.00
Light straw yellow color; butterscotch, caramel, nutmeg nose; creamy textured, butterscotch, caramel,
honey butter palate with low acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 82 points
•
2013 True Myth Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Edna Valley $14.00
Light yellow color; apple, reduction, green pea nose; odd, green apple, green pea, reduction palate with
some balancing acidity but unattractive flavors, perhaps due to the reduction; short-medium finish
•
2014 Ca’ Momi Chardonnay California, Napa Valley $14.00
Light yellow color; apple, vanilla, rum nose; odd, ripe apple, pear syrup, vanilla palate with low acidity
and substantial residual sugar, tasting more like a confected drink than a natural grape expression;
$16 to $19
•
2014 Alma Rosa Chardonnay Santa Barbara County California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara
County $19.00
Light yellow color; savory, lemon, lemon gelee, lemon verbena nose; tasty, juicy, tart lemon, lemon
verbena, mineral palate with bright medium acidity; medium-plus finish (13.9% alcohol) 91+ points
•
2013 Cambria Chardonnay Katherine’s Vineyard California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
[Jackson Family Wines] $17.00
Light lemon yellow color; savory, hazelnut, butter sauce, nutmeg nose; poised, savory, hazelnut, butter
sauce, nutmeg palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 91 points
•
2013 Black Stallion Estate Winery Chardonnay California, Napa Valley [Delicato Family Vyds]
$16.00
Light yellow color; tart apple, green apple, lime cream, green almond nose; tart apple, subtle spice, ripe
pear palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 90+ points
•
2014 Husch Vineyards Chardonnay California, North Coast, Mendocino $16.00
Light lemon yellow color; vanilla, pear, light pie spice nose; poised, medium bodied, tart pear, lemon
cream, vanilla palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.9% alcohol) 90+ points
•
2014 Carmel Road Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Monterey [Jackson Family Wines]
$16.00
Light yellow color; aromatic, pear, honeysuckle, floral nose; tasty, bright, ripe pear, honeysuckle, pear
cream palate with balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 90 points
•
2012 Gloria Ferrer Chardonnay California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros $16.00
Light lemon yellow color; tart pineapple, lemon, white jasmine nose; tart lemon, white jasmine palate
with integrating oak; needs 1-plus year; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 89 points
•
2013 Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay Indian Wells Washington, Columbia Valley [Ste.
Michelle Wine Estates] $17.00
Light straw yellow color; aromatic, savory, gunpowder, butter nose; savory, butter, tart lemon, mineral
palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish (14% alcohol) 89 points
•
2013 Alexander Valley Vineyards Chardonnay California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
$16.00
Light yellow color; savory, applesauce, tart pear, apple nose; tasty, lemon, tart pear palate with good
balancing acidity; medium finish (14% alcohol; 70% stainless steel, 30% French oak for 6-8 months) 88
points
•
2013 Cherry Pie (Hundred Acre) Chardonnay Cherry Tart California $19.00
Light straw yellow color; savory, toast, butter sauce, nutmeg, orange nose; medium bodied, butter sauce,
tart apple, mango palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.3% alcohol; 40% Monterey
Co., 30% Sonoma Co., 21% Napa Co.) 88 points
•
2013 Taken Wine Co. Chardonnay Complicated California, Sonoma County [Trinchero Family
Estates] $17.00
Light straw yellow color; pear, light vanilla, apple, baked apple nose; juicy, honeysuckle, white jasmine,
pear gelee palate with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.8% alcohol) 87+ points
•
2014 Wente Vineyards Chardonnay Riva Ranch California, Central Coast, Arroyo Seco $19.00
Light straw yellow color; apple, butter poached pear nose; medium bodied, ripe apple, baked pear palate
•
2013 Folie à Deux Chardonnay Russian River Valley California, Sonoma County, Russian River
Valley [Trinchero Family Estates] $16.00
Light straw yellow color; baked apple, pie spice, nutmeg, vanilla nose; vanilla, baked apple, pie spice
palate with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.9% alcohol) 87 points
•
2013 Rodney Strong Chardonnay Chalk Hill California, Sonoma County, Chalk Hill $16.00
Light yellow color; apple pie filling, pie spice, nutmeg nose; pear nectar, vanilla, pie spice palate with
some balancing acidity and noticeable residual sugar; medium-plus finish (14% alcohol) 87 points
•
2014 Byron Chardonnay Nielson by Byron California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Light straw yellow color; pear, apple, fig nose; medium bodied, ripe apple, ripe lemon, blond fig palate
with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 87 points
•
2012 Frei Brothers Chardonnay Reserve California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley [E&J
Gallo] $17.00
Light straw yellow color; apple, baked apple, pear, nutmeg nose; medium bodied, baked apple, nutmeg,
lemon cream palate with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.9% alcohol) 87 points
•
2014 Fess Parker Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County $16.00
Light yellow color; aromatic, baked apple, nutmeg nose; rich, tasty, baked apple, pear, nutmeg palate
•
2013 Ghost Pines Chardonnay Winemaker’s Blend California [E&J Gallo] $16.00
Light yellow color; vanilla, apple cream, sweet butter, nutmeg, apple pie filling nose; apple, pear,
nutmeg palate with lowish acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol; 38% Monterey County, 33%
Sonoma County, 29% Napa County) 86+ points
•
2014 Au Contraire Chardonnay California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley [Palm Bay
International] $17.00
Light straw yellow color; aromatic, tart pear, apple, applesauce nose; juicy, pear, apple palate with near
medium acidity; medium-plus finish (13.8% alcohol) 86+ points
•
2013 La Crema Chardonnay Monterey California, Central Coast, Monterey [Jackson Family
Wines] $19.00
Light straw yellow color; lemon cream, vanilla nose; medium bodied, lemon cream, vanilla palate with
some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 86+ points
•
2013 Franciscan Estate Chardonnay California, Napa Valley [Constellation Brands] $16.00
Light straw yellow color; oak, butter, nutmeg, pie spice nose; creamy textured, butter, oak, nutmeg
palate with some balancing acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol; one of the better examples in the
buttery style at this price point) 86 points
•
2013 Trefethen Chardonnay Double T California, Napa Valley, Oak Knoll $16.00
Light yellow color; apple, pie spice, baked apple nose; juicy, medium bodied, apple, pear palate with
some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.1% alcohol) 86 points
•
2012 Valley of the Moon Chardonnay California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast [V2 Wine Group]
$16.00
Light yellow color; honey butter, vanilla nose; medium bodied, peach, ripe pear palate with some
•
2014 Duckhorn Vineyards Chardonnay Decoy Sonoma County California, Sonoma County
$17.00
Light yellow color; apple, tart pear, pie spice nose; juicy, ripe apple, pie spice palate with lowish acidity;
•
2013 Kali Hart Vineyard Chardonnay (Talbott) California, Monterey Co. $17.00
Light medium yellow color; vanilla, baked pear, pineapple nose; pear, pineapple palate with some
balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 86 points
•
2013 Lincourt Chardonnay Steel California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills [Foley Food & Wine
Society] $17.00
Light yellow color; pear, guava, papaya nose; juicy, tart pear, papaya palate with good balancing acidity;
•
2013 MacMurray Ranch Chardonnay Russian River Valley California, Sonoma County, Russian
River Valley [E&J Gallo] $17.00
Light yellow color; ripe pear, orange, hazelnut nose; medium bodied, creamy textured, pear, orange,
sweet butter palate with low acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 86 points
•
2012 Artesa Chardonnay Carneros California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros $19.00
Light medium yellow color; mango, papaya, reduction, sweet butter nose; medium bodied, juicy, sweet,
ripe pineapple, mango, sweet butter palate with some balancing acidity and noticeable residual sugar;
•
2013 Raymond Vineyard & Cellar Chardonnay Reserve California, Napa Valley [Boisset
Collection] $19.00
Light yellow color; oak, lemon custard, condensed milk, apple sauce nose; pear, lemon custard palate
with lowish acidity; medium finish (14.5% alcohol) 86 points
•
2012 Reata Chardonnay (Jamieson Ranch) California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros $19.00
Light medium yellow color; odd, green pepper, reduction, cabbage water nose; less off putting on the
palate of tart pear, green apple and vanilla with some balancing acidity; medium finish (14.3% alcohol)
86 points
•
2014 Kunde Estate Chardonnay Sonoma Valley California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
$16.00
Light straw yellow color; butter, lemon cream, apple nose; creamy textured, butter, pear cream palate
with lowish acidity; medium-plus finish (13.8% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2013 Wild Horse Chardonnay California, Central Coast [Constellation Brands] $16.00
Light yellow color; butter, pear, green pea soup, vanilla nose; butter, pear palate with some balancing
acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2012 Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay Grand Réserve California [Jackson Family Wines] $17.00
Light medium golden yellow color; butter, oak, brioche, butterscotch nose; medium bodied, buttery,
lemon cream palate with noticeable residual sugar and lowish acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5%
alcohol; 51% Monterey County, 49% Santa Barbara County) 85+ points
•
2013 La Crema Chardonnay Sonoma Coast California, Sonoma County [Jackson Family Wines]
$19.00
Light straw yellow color; vanilla, vanilla custard, creme caramel nose; creamy textured, vanilla, apple
cream palate with lowish acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2013 Napa Cellars Chardonnay California, Napa Valley [Trinchero Family Estates] $19.00
Light yellow color; pear, pie crust, nutmeg nose; near medium bodied, pear gelee, almond palate with
noticeable residual sugar; medium finish (14.2% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2013 Francis Ford Coppola Chardonnay Sofia California, Central Coast, Monterey County $16.00
Light yellow color; savory, pear, green apple, butter nose; ripe pear, apple palate with some balancing
•
2013 Markham Chardonnay California, Napa Valley [Terlato Wines] $16.00
Light medium yellow color; aromatic, savory, butter sauce, lemon butter, butterscotch nose; medium
bodied, baked pear, pie spice, nutmeg palate with lowish acidity; medium finish (13.8% alcohol) 85
points
•
NV Eye Chart Wines Chardonnay California $19.00
Light medium yellow color; baked apple, candied apple, vanilla, honey butter nose; medium bodied,
honey butter, vanilla cream palate with lowish acidity; medium finish (14.3% alcohol) 85 points
•
2013 BNA Wine Group Chardonnay Butternut California $16.00
Medium golden yellow color; oxidative, almond, lemon nose; medium bodied, somewhat oxidized,
lemon palate with near medium acidity; medium-plus finish (13.9% alcohol) 84 points
•
2013 Nine Points Chardonnay (Stags’ Leap) California, Napa Valley [Treasury Wine Estates]
$18.50
Light yellow color; butter sauce, apple gelee nose; medium bodied, apple cream, butter palate with some
•
2013 Bennett Valley Cellars Chardonnay BIN 5757 California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley
$19.00
Light yellow color; papaya, guava, pineapple, vanilla nose; juicy, sweet, lemon gelee, papaya, pineapple
syrup palate exhibiting residual sugar; medium finish (13% alcohol) 84 points
•
2013 Treana Chardonnay White (Hope Family) California, Central Coast $19.00
Light medium yellow color; honey butter, vanilla, nougat nose; medium bodied, honey butter, nougat,
pear cream palate with low acidity and noticeable residual sugar; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol)
84 points
•
2013 Meiomi Chardonnay California [Constellation Brands] $19.00
Light yellow color; lemon gelee, reduction, apple nose; odd, confected, lemon gelee, reduction, apple
palate with very low acidity; short finish (13.8% alcohol) 78 points
$20 to $24
•
2013 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay Santa Barbara County California, Central Coast, Santa
Barbara County $21.00
Light lemon yellow color; aromatic, almond, tart pear, apple gelee, pie spice nose; tasty, poised, almond,
pear, lemon, mineral palate with good medium acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol)92 points
•
2013 Clos du Val Chardonnay Carneros California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros $23.00
Light yellow color; tart pear, lemon gelee, light toast nose; medium bodied, juicy, tart pear, lemon gelee,
almond palate with bright medium acidity; medium-plus finish (14.1% alcohol) 91+ points
•
2013 Landmark Chardonnay Overlook California, Sonoma County $23.00
Light yellow color; savory, Meyer lemon, almond, pear, pie spice nose; tasty, Meyer lemon, mineral, tart
pear, lime, pie spice palate with crisp medium acidity; medium-plus finish (14.3% alcohol; 83% Sonoma
Co., 11% Monterey Co., 6% Santa Barbara Co. fruit) 91+ points
•
2013 Gundlach Bundschu Chardonnay Estate Vineyard California, Sonoma County, Sonoma
Coast $21.00
Light yellow color; lemon, pear, almond, hazelnut nose; tasty, lemon, pear, mineral, almond palate with
good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.2% alcohol) 91 points
•
2013 Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Luminus California, Napa Valley, Oak Knoll [Treasury
Light yellow color; aromatic, pear cream, lemon cream, honey butter nose; medium bodied, luscious,
lemon cream, tart pear, pear cream palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.3%
alcohol) 91 points
•
2012 Freemark Abbey Chardonnay California, Napa Valley [Jackson Family Wines] $24.00
Light yellow color; pear, toast, almond nose; tasty, poised, tart pear, mineral, brioche palate with crisp,
medium acidity; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol; no malolactic) 91 points
•
2012 Gainey Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills $21.00
Light lemon yellow color; ripe pear, poached pear, apple pie filling, light caramel nose; clean, rich,
medium bodied, baked apple, tart pear, apple pie filling palate with good acidity; medium-plus finish
(60% barrel fermented, 60% malo, 10 months in oak; 13.9% alcohol) 90+ points
•
2013 Hanna Chardonnay California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley [Terlato Wines] $21.00
Light yellow color; reduction, savory, hazelnut, butter, nutmeg, orange spice nose; medium bodied,
savory, lemon gelee, pear, hazelnut, nutmeg, reduction palate with bright balancing acidity; mediumplus finish (14.8% alcohol) 90+ points
•
2013 Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay California, Sonoma County $23.00
Light yellow color; vanilla, almond, pear, nutmeg nose; poised, juicy, pear, almond, mineral, nutmeg
palate; medium-plus finish (14.2% alcohol) 90+ points
•
2013 Nottingham Cellars Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Arroyo Seco $24.00
Light straw yellow color; aromatic, savory, poached pear, Bearnaise sauce, lemon butter nose; tasty,
poised, tart sauteed pear, mineral, tart baked apple palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus
finish (13.9% alcohol; good pairing with all kinds of chicken and seafood dishes with light sauces)90+
points
•
2011 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Belle Terre Vineyard California, Sonoma County, Alexander
Valley [Treasury Wine Estates] $24.00
Light straw yellow color; green apple, toast, herb butter nose; tart pear, light nutmeg, herb butter palate
•
2012 Talley Vineyards Chardonnay Arroyo Grande Valley California, Central Coast, Arroyo
Grande Valley $24.00
Light straw yellow color; pecan pie, baked apple, nutmeg, baked peach nose; medium bodied, peach, tart
pear, pecan palate with near medium acidity; medium-plus finish (14% alcohol) 90 points
•
2013 Tolosa Winery Chardonnay Edna Ranch California, Central Coast, Edna Valley $24.00
Light yellow color; pear, nutmeg nose; tasty, baked pear, spice, tart apple palate with balancing acidity;
medium-plus finish (14.3% alcohol) 90 points
•
2013 Chalk Hill Chardonnay Sonoma Coast California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast [Foley
Food & Wine Society] $20.00
Light yellow color; ripe lemon, pear, vanilla, nutmeg nose; poised, juicy, tart pear, nutmeg, lemon cream
palate; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 89 points
•
2013 Matanzas Creek Winery Chardonnay Sonoma County California, Sonoma County
Light yellow color; pear, butter, almond nose; medium bodied, savory, butter, pear, almond cream
palate with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.1% alcohol) 89 points
•
2012 Saintsbury Chardonnay California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros $23.00
Light straw yellow color; nutmeg, butter, tart apple nose; poised, tart apple cream, lemon, light butter
palate with good balancing medium acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 89 points
•
2012 Mer Soleil Chardonnay Silver Unoaked California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
[Wagner Family] $21.00
Light medium canary yellow color; golden mango, peach nose; juicy, ripe peach, tart pineapple palate;
medium-plus finish (14.8% alcohol) 88+ points
•
2013 Luli Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands $21.00
Light yellow color; almond, tart pear nose; almond, tart pear palate; medium finish 88 points
•
2013 MacRostie Chardonnay California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast $21.00 [Distinguished
Vineyards & Wine Partners]
Light straw yellow color; ripe apple, pear, green apple nose; juicy, apple, ripe pear, light green herb,
orange palate with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 88 points
•
2013 Newton Chardonnay (Red Label) California, North Coast, Napa County [LVMH] $21.00
Light medium yellow color; savory, oak, butter sauce, papaya nose; lemon, butter sauce, papaya palate
with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 88 points
•
2012 Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay Sonoma Coast California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
[Brown-Forman] $24.00
Light straw yellow color; butterscotch, honey butter, almond cream, Abba Zabba filling nose; medium
bodied, baked pear, almond, butter sauce palate with integrating oak and some balancing acidity;
•
2013 Morgan Chardonnay Highland Santa Lucia Highlands California, Central Coast, Santa
Lucia Highlands $24.00
Light yellow color; pear syrup, baked pear nose; pear syrup, baked pear palate; medium-plus finish
•
2012 Rancho Sisquoc Chardonnay Flood Family Vineyards California, Central Coast, Santa
Barbara County [Bronco Wine Co.] $20.00 Light yellow color; graham cracker, lemon pie, vanilla nose;
medium bodied, luscious, graham cracker, lemon pie filling, pie crust, vanilla, almond palate with
lowish acidity; medium-plus finish (14.2% alcohol) 87 points
•
2012 J. Lohr Chardonnay Highland Bench California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
$21.00
Light medium yellow color; pear nectar nose; ripe pear, pear nectar palate; medium-plus finish 87
points
•
2013 J. Wilkes Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley $21.00
Light yellow color; tart pineapple, lemon gelee nose; medium bodied, lemon gelee, ripe citrus palate
with some acidity and RS; medium finish (14.2% alcohol) 87 points
•
2013 The Hess Collection Chardonnay California, Napa Valley $21.00
Light yellow color; aromatic, lemon custard, pie spice, orange blossom nose; medium bodied, lemon
gelee, pear cream, orange cream palate with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.4% alcohol)
87 points
•
2012 Girard Chardonnay Russian River Valley California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
[Vintage Wine Estates] $23.00
Light yellow color; savory, hazelnut, nutmeg nose; medium bodied, nutmeg, ripe pear, hazelnut palate
with some balancing acidity and discernable residual sugar; medium-plus finish (13.9% alcohol) 87
points
•
2013 Bernardus Winery Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Monterey County $21.00
Light medium yellow color; savory, hazelnut, almond, nutmeg, sunflower seed nose; medium bodied,
pear syrup palate with some balancing acidity and noticeable residual sugar; medium-plus finish (14.3%
alcohol) 86+ points
•
2014 Acacia Barrel Select California, Napa Valley [Treasury Wine Estates] $22.00
Light lemon yellow color; almond, papaya, lemon gelee nose; almond, lemon gelee, papaya palate with
some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 86+ points
•
2014 Talbott Chardonnay Logan Sleepy Hollow Vineyard California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia
Highlands $21.00
Light medium straw yellow color; apple, butter nose; ripe apple, pear palate with noticeable residual
sugar; medium finish (14.3% alcohol) 86 points
•
2013 William Hill Winery Chardonnay Napa Valley California, Napa Valley [E&J Gallo] $21.00
Light straw yellow color; baked pear, baked apple, vanilla, spice nose; apple, pear, vanilla palate with
lowish acidity; medium finish (14.1% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2012 Clos Pegase Chardonnay Mitsuko’s Vineyard California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
[Vintage Wine Estates] $24.00
Light straw yellow color; mango, butter, butterscotch nose; medium bodied, lemon butter, butter cream
palate with some balancing acidity and residual sugar; medium-plus finish (14.2% alcohol)85+ points
•
2013 Acacia Chardonnay Carneros California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros [Treasury Wine Estates]
$20.00
Light yellow color; apple, pear, vanilla nose; apple, pear, vanilla palate with lowish acidity; medium
•
2011 Battaglini Estate Wines Chardonnay California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
$21.00
Light medium straw yellow color; savory, apple, oak nose; light-medium bodied, savory, apple, oak
palate with near medium acidity; medium-plus finish (13% alcohol) 85 points
•
2013 JAQK Cellars Chardonnay High Roller California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast $20.00
Light yellow color; baked apple, pear compote, pineapple syrup nose; sweet, pear gelee, pineapple syrup
palate with low acidity and noticeable residual sugar; medium finish (13.6% alcohol) 84 points
•
2011 Ancient Oak Cellars Chardonnay California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley $21.00
Light medium yellow color; dried apricot, peach syrup, peach pie filling nose; peach syrup, dried apricot
palate with low acidity and noticeable residual sugar; medium-plus finish (14.2% alcohol)84 points
•
2012 Merryvale Chardonnay Starmont California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros $21.00
Light straw yellow color; apple, pear, honey nose; one-note, pear, apple, honey cream palate with some
•
2013 Virginia Marie Lambrix Chardonnay Bewitched California, Sonoma County, Russian River
Valley [Truett-Hurst, Inc.] $21.00
Light yellow color; pear syrup, peach syrup, canned pineapple nose; medium bodied, pear syrup, peach
syrup palate with some balancing acidity and noticeable residual sugar; medium finish (14.5% alcohol)
84 points
•
2013 Judson Hale Chardonnay California $22.00
Light medium yellow color; aromatic, honey, beeswax, sweet butter, nougat nose; medium bodied,
oxidized, sweet butter, nougat palate with lowish acidity; medium finish (13.5% alcohol; second bottle,
with similar notes) 84 points
•
2012 Beaulieu Vineyard Chardonnay Carneros California, Carneros, Napa [Treasury Wine
Estates] $20.00
Light medium golden yellow color; savory, oxidative, butter nose; medium bodied, somewhat oxidized,
butter palate with low acidity; medium finish (14.5% alcohol) 83 points
•
2012 Schug Chardonnay Sonoma Coast California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast $20.00
Light yellow color; apple, lemon drop, reduction nose; citrus, reduction palate with near medium acidity
that tastes like an addition; medium finish (14.5% alcohol) 82 points
•
2014 Wild Horse Chardonnay Unbridled California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
[Constellation Brands] $20.00
Light lemon yellow color; pineapple, guava, reduction nose; ripe peach, apple, guava palate with low
•
2014 St. Supéry Chardonnay Oak Free California, Napa Valley [Chanel, Inc.] $21.00
Light straw yellow color; off putting reduction, gunpowder, guava nose; guava, papaya, reduction palate
with low acidity; short finish (13.5% alcohol) 78 points
$26 to $29
•
2013 Stags’ Leap Winery Chardonnay California, Napa Valley [Treasury Wine Estates] $26.00
Light straw yellow color; appealing, pear brioche, baked apple, vanilla nose; medium bodied, tasty, tart
pear, butter sauce, lemon butter palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.1%
alcohol) 90+ points
•
2011 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Robert Young Vineyard California, Sonoma County,
Alexander Valley [Treasury Wine Estates] $26.00
Light medium straw yellow color; savory, almond, butter, butter croissant nose; medium bodied,
buttery, almond, butter poached pear palate; medium-plus finish (14.4% alcohol) 89 points
•
2012 Dry Creek Vineyard Chardonnay DCV10 California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Light lemon yellow color; ripe lemon, lemon cream, almond nose; rich, creamy textured, lemon cream,
almond, vanilla pudding, ripe pear palate; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol; 85% malolactic
fermentation; label now says DCV Estate Block 10) 89 points
•
2012 Paul Hobbs Chardonnay CrossBarn Sonoma Coast California, Sonoma County, Sonoma
Coast $26.00
Light yellow color; apple, baked pear nose; apple, baked pear palate; medium finish (14% alcohol)88
points
•
2012 Groth Chardonnay Hillview California, Napa Valley $27.00
Light yellow color; baked pear, vanilla, oak, almond, nutmeg nose; savory, pear, vanilla, nutmeg palate
•
2013 Pine Ridge Chardonnay Dijon Clones California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros $27.00
Light yellow color; savory, lemon cream, pear, lemon verbena nose; tasty, savory, lemon cream, mineral,
lemon butter palate with near medium acidity; medium-plus finish (14.3% alcohol) 88 points
•
2013 Trefethen Chardonnay California, Napa Valley, Oak Knoll $29.00
Light yellow color; ripe pear, apple pie filling, pie spice nose; medium bodied, rich, ripe pear, apple pie
filling, pie spice palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.1% alcohol) 88 points
•
2013 Mer Soleil Chardonnay Reserve Santa Lucia Highlands California, Central Coast, Santa
Lucia Highlands [Wagner Family] $29.00
Light medium yellow color; tart apricot, melted butter nose; rich, medium bodied, ripe pear palate;
•
2013 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Chardonnay Karia California, Napa Valley [Ste. Michelle Wine
Estates] $29.00
Light yellow color; tart apple, pie spice, pear, nutmeg, butter nose; pear, apple, pie spice palate with
some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 87 points
•
2011 Gallo Family Vineyards / Gallo of Sonoma Chardonnay Signature Series California,
Sonoma County, Russian River Valley [E&J Gallo] $29.00
Medium yellow color; butter, vanilla, butterscotch nose; medium bodied, butter, poached pear, baked
apple palate with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.1% alcohol; 87% Laguna Ranch, 13%
Del Rio Vyd) 86 points
•
2013 J Vineyards & Winery Chardonnay Estate California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
[E&J Gallo] $26.00
Light straw yellow color; savory, oak, butter sauce, guava nose; medium bodied, baked pear, oak, sweet
butter palate with some balancing acidity; medium finish (14.3% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2013 Frog’s Leap Chardonnay California, Napa Valley $29.00
Light yellow color; savory, butter sauce, sautéed onion, sauerkraut nose; very tart apple, lemon,
sauerkraut palate with near medium acidity; medium-plus finish (13.4% alcohol) 85 points
•
2013 Orogeny Chardonnay California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley [Treasury Wine
Estates] $26.00
Light yellow color; baked pear, baked apple, light cinnamon nose; medium bodied, baked apple, baked
pear palate with some residual sugar; medium finish (14.2% alcohol) 84 points
•
2012 The Calling Chardonnay Dutton Ranch California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
$26.00
Light yellow color; butter, apple, mango, almond nose; mango, tart apple, almond palate with lowish
acidity; medium finish (13.4% alcohol) 84 points
$30 and Up
•
2012 Qupé Chardonnay Reserve Bien Nacido Block Eleven California, Central Coast, Santa
Maria Valley $30.00
Light straw yellow color; aromatic, appealing, pear cream, butter, lemon cream nose; medium bodied,
pear, pear cream, lemon cream palate with balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13% alcohol) 92
points
•
2013 Jordan Vineyard & Winery Chardonnay Russian River Valley California, Sonoma
County, Russian River Valley $33.00
Light yellow color; appealing, almond, lemon, green almond nose; tasty, juicy, focused, tart lemon,
mineral palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish (precision and balance reminiscent of a good
Puligny-Montrachet; 13.7% alcohol) 92 points
•
2012 Frank Family Vineyards Chardonnay Napa Valley California, Napa Valley $34.00
Light yellow color; ripe pear, apple nose; rich but balanced, tart lemon, tart pear palate; medium-plus
•
2012 Fess Parker Chardonnay Ashley’s Vineyard California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills $30.00
Light medium yellow color; tart pear, light cinnamon, ripe apple nose; tasty, tart pear, mineral, baking
spice, apple pie filling palate; medium-plus finish (14.1% alcohol) 91+ points
•
2013 Hanzell Chardonnay Sebella California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley $31.00
Light yellow color; aromatic, pear, white jasmine, orange blossom nose; medium bodied, lemon cream,
orange blossom, lemon palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.2% alcohol) 91+
points
•
2013 Dutton-Goldfield Chardonnay Dutton Ranch California, Sonoma County, Russian River
Valley $30.00
Light straw yellow color; appealing, butter, brioche, pear pastry nose; medium bodied, poised, baked
pear, almond, pear cream palate with near medium acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5% alcohol) 91
points
•
2012 Gary Farrell Chardonnay Russian River Selection California, Sonoma County, Russian
River Valley $31.00
Light lemon yellow color; ripe pear, ginger nose; juicy, ripe pear, ginger, mineral, ripe lemon palate;
•
2012 Chalk Hill Chardonnay Estate California, Sonoma County, Chalk Hill [Foley Food & Wine
Society] $39.00
Light yellow color; aromatic, savory, tart pear, buttery oak nose; tasty, tart pear, lemon cream, butter
sauce palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 91 points
•
2012 Migration (Duckhorn Vineyards) Chardonnay Russian River Valley California, Sonoma
County, Russian River Valley $30.00
Light lemon yellow color; lemon pie filling, apple pie filling nose; tasty, rich, medium bodied, apple pie
filling, lemon cream, light vanilla palate; medium-plus finish (14.1% alcohol) 90+ points
•
2012 Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay The Cutrer California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
[Brown-Forman] $33.00
Light straw yellow color; lifted, savory, baked lemon, preserved lemon, melted butter, almond nose;
medium bodied, almond, baked lemon, baking spice palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus
finish (14.2% alcohol) 90+ points
•
2011 Grgich Hills Chardonnay California, Napa Valley $41.00
Light straw yellow color; savory, almond, butter sauce, sauteed mushroom, nutmeg nose; savory, tasty,
tart pear, almond, butter sauce, nutmeg palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (13.5%
alcohol) 90+ points
•
2012 Robert Mondavi Winery Chardonnay Reserve California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
[Constellation Brands] $41.00
Light lemon yellow color; almond, tart pear, light hazelnut nose; rich, tasty, almond, tart pear, light
hazelnut palate; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 90+ points
•
2012 Smith-Madrone Chardonnay California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District $30.00
Light lemon yellow color; lemon gelee, vanilla, ripe pineapple, lemon cream, lemon honey nose; rich,
creamy textured, lemon gelee, lemon honey, chamomile palate with good acidity; medium-plus finish
•
2011 Stonestreet Chardonnay Broken Road California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
Light yellow color; lemon cream, pear cream, ripe apple nose; rich, creamy textured, apple, tart pear,
tart pear cream palate with integrating oak; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 89 points
•
2013 Patz & Hall Chardonnay Sonoma Coast California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast $34.00
Light yellow color; baked apple, pie spice, nutmeg nose; medium bodied, baked apple, pie spice, nutmeg
palate with balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.2% alcohol) 89 points
•
2013 Daou Vineyards Chardonnay California, Central Coast, Paso Robles $31.00
Light medium yellow color; appealing, aromatic, lemon chiffon, lemon cream, honey butter nose;
medium bodied, lush, lemon custard, pear nectar, honey butter palate with some balancing acidity;
•
2014 Talbott Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands California, Central
Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands $34.00
Light yellow color; nutmeg, oak, mango nose; medium bodied, rich, sweet butter, lemon butter, nutmeg
palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol) 88
•
2011 Bonneau Chardonnay Catherine’s California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros $31.00
Medium yellow color; butter rum, honey butter, almond cream nose; medium bodied, butter, almond
cream palate with some balancing acidity and noticeable residual sugar; medium finish (14.5% alcohol;
10 months in French oak) 87 points
•
2013 Flora Springs Chardonnay Barrel Fermented California, Napa Valley $31.00
Light straw yellow color; pineapple, ripe lemon, ripe pear, lime nose; rich, ripe lemon, juicy, pineapple,
baking spice palate with some residual sugar; medium finish (14.2% alcohol) 87 points
•
2012 Flying Horse Chardonnay California, Napa Valley $34.00
Light medium yellow color; butterscotch, vanilla, baked pear, nutmeg nose; medium bodied, pear
cream, vanilla, butterscotch palate with some balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (15.5% alcohol) 87
points
•
2014 Rombauer Vineyards Chardonnay California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros $36.00
Light straw yellow color; butter, baked apple, pie spice nose; butter, baked apple, pie spice palate;
•
2013 Duckhorn Vineyards Chardonnay Napa Valley California, Napa Valley $33.00
Light yellow color; pear cream, vanilla, creme caramel nose; pear cream, vanilla palate with polish but
low acidity; medium finish (14.1% alcohol) 86 points
•
2013 Vine Cliff Winery Chardonnay Carneros California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros $36.00
Light yellow color; mango, butter sauce nose; medium bodied, mango, apple, pear syrup palate with
lowish acidity; medium-plus finish (14.8% alcohol) 85+ points
•
2012 ZD Wines Chardonnay California $36.00
Light yellow color; butter, baked apple nose; butter, baked apple palate with some balancing acidity;
•
2014 Sparrow Hawk Chardonnay Reserve California, Napa Valley $33.00
Light medium yellow color; savory, baked lemon, reduction, oak, mango nose; medium bodied, mango,
orange syrup, kumquat palate with noticeable residual sugar; medium finish (14.1% alcohol) 84 points
Grocery Store Chardonnay Alpha Listing
14 Hands Chardonnay – Unoaked Chardonnay 2012 $11.00 86 points
A by Acacia–Unoaked Chardonnay 2014 $11.00 86+ points
A Crisp Cellars Chardonnay (Luna) 2013 $9.00 83 points
Acacia Barrel Select 2014 $22.00 86+ points
Acacia Chardonnay Carneros 2013 $20.00 85 points
Alexander Valley Vineyards Chardonnay 2013 $16.00 88 points
Alma Rosa Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 2014 $19.00 91+ points
Ancient Oak Cellars Chardonnay 2011 $21.00 84 points
Artesa Chardonnay Carneros 2012 $19.00 86 points
Au Bon Climat Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 2013 $21.00 92 points
Au Contraire Chardonnay 2014 $17.00 86+ points
Avalon Chardonnay 2014 $11.00 86 points
Barefoot Cellars Chardonnay NV $6.00 80 points
Battaglini Estate Wines Chardonnay 2011 $21.00 85 points
Beaulieu Vineyard Chardonnay Carneros 2012 $20.00 83 points
Beaulieu Vineyard Chardonnay Coastal Estates 2012 $9.00 85 points
Belle Ambiance Family Vineyards Chardonnay 2012 $9.00 80 points
Bennett Valley Cellars Chardonnay BIN 5757 2013 $19.00 84 points
Benziger Family Winery Chardonnay 2013 $14.00 86 points
Benziger Family Winery Chardonnay 2014 $14.00 85+ points
Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay 2014 $6.00 83 points
Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Founders’ Estate 2013 $9.00 83 points
Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Luminus 2013 $23.00 91 points
Bernardus Winery Chardonnay 2013 $21.00 86+ points
Black Stallion Estate Winery Chardonnay 2013 $16.00 90+ points
Blackstone Winery Chardonnay Winemaker’s Select 2013 $9.00 83 points
BNA Wine Group Chardonnay Butternut 2013 $16.00 84 points
Bogle Vineyards Chardonnay California 2013 $9.00 86 points
Bogle Vineyards Chardonnay Essential 2014 $13.00 82 points
Bonneau Chardonnay Catherine’s 2011 $31.00 87 points
Bonterra Vineyards Chardonnay 2013 $13.00 86 points
Byron Chardonnay Nielson by Byron 2014 $17.00 87 points
Ca’ Momi Chardonnay 2014 $14.00 75 points
Cambria Chardonnay Katherine’s Vineyard 2013 $17.00 91 points
Cameron Hughes Chardonnay CAM Collection 2013 $14.00 84 points
Carmel Road Chardonnay 2014 $16.00 90 points
Cartlidge & Browne Chardonnay 2013 $11.00 83 points
Chalk Hill Chardonnay Estate 2012 $39.00 91 points
Chalk Hill Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2013 $20.00 89 points
Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay 2013 $13.00 86 points
Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Belle Terre Vineyard 2011 $24.00 90 points
Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Bijou 2013 $11.00 84 points
Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Robert Young Vineyard 2011 $26.00 89 points
Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay 2013 $10.00 85+ points
Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay 2014 $10.00 87 points
Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay Indian Wells 2013 $17.00 89 points
Cherry Pie (Hundred Acre) Chardonnay Cherry Tart 2013 $19.00 88 points
Chloe Wines Chardonnay Chloe 2012 $13.00 84 points
Clos du Bois Chardonnay 2013 $11.00 85 points
Clos du Val Chardonnay Carneros 2013 $23.00 91+ points
Clos LaChance Chardonnay 2014 $13.00 86+ points
Clos Pegase Chardonnay Mitsuko’s Vineyard 2012 $24.00 85+ points
Columbia Crest Chardonnay Grand Estates 2013 $10.00 85+ points
Columbia Winery Chardonnay 2012 $13.00 84 points
Concannon Vineyard Chardonnay Selected Vineyards 2014 $10.00 77 points
Cupcake Vineyards Chardonnay Central Coast 2013 $10.00 85 points
Curious Beasts Wines Chardonnay 2013 $13.00 82 points
Daou Vineyards Chardonnay 2013 $31.00 88 points
Dark Horse Wines Chardonnay The Original Dark Horse 2013 $9.00 85 points
De Loach Chardonnay Heritage Reserve 2014 $10.00 83 points
Dry Creek Vineyard Chardonnay DCV10 2012 $26.00 89 points
Duckhorn Vineyards Chardonnay Decoy Sonoma County 2014 $17.00 86 points
Duckhorn Vineyards Chardonnay Napa Valley 2013 $33.00 86 points
Dutton-Goldfield Chardonnay Dutton Ranch 2013 $30.00 91 points
Edna Valley Vineyard Chardonnay Central Coast 2013 $11.00 84 points
Estancia Chardonnay 2013 $10.00 85 points
Eye Chart Wines Chardonnay NV $19.00 85 points
Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay 2013 $23.00 90+ points
Fess Parker Chardonnay 2014 $16.00 86+ points
Fess Parker Chardonnay Ashley’s Vineyard 2012 $30.00 91+ points
Fetzer Chardonnay Sundial 2013 $7.00 84 points
Firefly Ridge Chardonnay 2014 $10.00 79 points
Flipflop Wines Chardonnay NV $6.00 79 points
Flora Springs Chardonnay Barrel Fermented 2013 $31.00 87 points
Flying Horse Chardonnay 2012 $34.00 87 points
Folie à Deux Chardonnay Ménage à Trois White 2012 $10.00 82 points
Folie à Deux Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2013 $16.00 87 points
Forest Ville Chardonnay 2013 $6.00 85+ points
Four Vines Chardonnay Naked Chardonnay 2012 $11.00 86 points
Foxglove Chardonnay Central Coast (Varner) 2013 $14.00 89 points
Francis Ford Coppola Chardonnay Diamond Collection Gold Label 2013 $13.00 85+ points
Francis Ford Coppola Chardonnay Rosso & Bianco 2012 $10.00 83 points
Francis Ford Coppola Chardonnay Sofia 2013 $16.00 85 points
Franciscan Estate Chardonnay 2013 $16.00 86 points
Frank Family Vineyards Chardonnay Napa Valley 2012 $34.00 92 points
Freemark Abbey Chardonnay 2012 $24.00 91 points
Frei Brothers Chardonnay Reserve 2012 $17.00 87 points
Frog’s Leap Chardonnay 2013 $29.00 85 points
Gainey Chardonnay 2012 $21.00 90+ points
Gallo Family Vineyards / Gallo of Sonoma Chardonnay Signature Series 2011 $29.00 86
points
Gary Farrell Chardonnay Russian River Selection 2012 $31.00 91 points
Ghost Pines Chardonnay Winemaker’s Blend 2013 $16.00 86+ points
Girard Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2012 $23.00 87 points
Gloria Ferrer Chardonnay 2012 $16.00 89 points
Gnarly Head Chardonnay 2013 $7.00 85 points
Grgich Hills Chardonnay 2011 $41.00 90+ points
Groth Chardonnay Hillview 2012 $27.00 88 points
Guenoc Chardonnay 2014 $9.00 81 points
Gundlach Bundschu Chardonnay Estate Vineyard 2013 $21.00 91 points
Hahn Chardonnay Monterey County 2013 $12.00 85 points
Hahn Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands 2013 $14.00 86 points
HandCraft Chardonnay 2013 $10.00 83 points
Hanna Chardonnay 2013 $21.00 90+ points
Hanzell Chardonnay Sebella 2013 $31.00 91+ points
Hogue Cellars Chardonnay 2014 $10.00 84+ points
Husch Vineyards Chardonnay 2014 $16.00 90+ points
It’s a HeadSnapper Chardonnay 2013 $13.00 85+ points
J Vineyards & Winery Chardonnay Estate 2013 $26.00 85 points
J. Lohr Chardonnay Highland Bench 2012 $21.00 87 points
J. Lohr Chardonnay Riverstone 2014 $13.00 85+ points
J. Wilkes Chardonnay 2013 $21.00 87 points
Jamieson Ranch Vineyards Chardonnay Light Horse 2013 $13.00 88 points
JAQK Cellars Chardonnay High Roller 2013 $20.00 84 points
Joel Gott Chardonnay Unoaked 2014 $14.00 84+ points
Jordan Vineyard & Winery Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2013 $33.00 92 points
Joseph Carr Chardonnay Josh Cellars 2014 $13.00 83 points
Joyce Vineyards Chardonnay 2013 $14.00 86+ points
Judson Hale Chardonnay 2013 $22.00 84 points
Kali Hart Vineyard Chardonnay (Talbott) 2013 $17.00 86 points
Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay Avant 2013 $13.00 84 points
Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay Grand Réserve 2012 $17.00 85+ points
Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay Vintner’s Reserve 2013 $13.00 84 points
Kenwood Chardonnay Sonoma County 2014 $11.00 84 points
Kirkland Signature Chardonnay Signature Series Russian River Valley 2013 $13.00 87
points
Kunde Estate Chardonnay Sonoma Valley 2014 $16.00 85+ points
La Crema Chardonnay Monterey 2013 $19.00 86+ points
La Crema Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2013 $19.00 85+ points
Landmark Chardonnay Overlook 2013 $23.00 91+ points
Lincourt Chardonnay Steel 2013 $17.00 86 points
Lucinda & Millie Chardonnay 2012 $11.00 86+ points
Luli Chardonnay 2013 $21.00 88 points
MacMurray Ranch Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2013 $17.00 86 points
MacRostie Chardonnay 2013 $21.00 88 points
Magnolia Court Chardonnay 2013 $10.00 86 points
Mark West Chardonnay California 2013 $11.00 83 points
Markham Chardonnay 2013 $16.00 85 points
Matanzas Creek Winery Chardonnay Sonoma County 2013 $21.00 89 points
Matchbook Chardonnay Old Head (Crew) 2013 $13.00 84 points
McBride Sisters Chardonnay Truvee 2013 $13.00 84 points
Meiomi Chardonnay 2013 $19.00 78 points
Mer Soleil Chardonnay Reserve Santa Lucia Highlands 2013 $29.00 87 points
Mer Soleil Chardonnay Silver Unoaked 2012 $21.00 88+ points
Meridian Vineyards Chardonnay California 2014 $10.00 83 points
Merryvale Chardonnay Starmont 2012 $21.00 84 points
Migration (Duckhorn Vineyards) Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2012 $30.00 90+ points
Mirassou Vineyards Chardonnay 2012 $10.00 82 points
Morgan Chardonnay Highland Santa Lucia Highlands 2013 $24.00 87+ points
Murphy-Goode Chardonnay 2013 $13.00 85+ points
Myka Cellars Chardonnay Mitzi 2014 $11.00 85 points
Napa Cellars Chardonnay 2013 $19.00 85+ points
Newton Chardonnay (Red Label) 2013 $21.00 88 points
Nine Points Chardonnay (Stags’ Leap) 2013 $18.50 84 points
Nottingham Cellars Chardonnay 2013 $24.00 90+ points
Once Upon a Vine Chardonnay The Fairest Chardonnay 2013 $11.00 85+ points
Orogeny Chardonnay 2013 $26.00 84 points
Parducci Chardonnay Small Lot Blend 2013 $11.00 84 points
Patz & Hall Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2013 $34.00 89 points
Paul Hobbs Chardonnay CrossBarn Sonoma Coast 2012 $26.00 88 points
Picket Fence Chardonnay 2013 $13.00 85+ points
Pine Ridge Chardonnay Dijon Clones 2013 $27.00 88 points
Pure Love Wines Chardonnay Layer Cake One Hundred Percent Pure 2013 $13.00 84+
points
Quail Oak Vineyards Chardonnay NV $3.00 78 points
Qupé Chardonnay Reserve Bien Nacido Block Eleven 2012 $30.00 92 points
Rancho Sisquoc Chardonnay Flood Family Vineyards 2012 $20.00 87 points
Ravenswood Chardonnay Vintners Blend 2013 $9.00 87 points
Raymond Vineyard & Cellar Chardonnay Reserve 2013 $19.00 86 points
Reata Chardonnay (Jamieson Ranch) 2012 $19.00 86 points
Rex Goliath Chardonnay Giant 47 Pound Rooster NV $6.00 83 points
Robert Mondavi Winery Chardonnay Private Selection 2014 $10.00 83 points
Robert Mondavi Winery Chardonnay Reserve 2012 $41.00 90+ points
Rodney Strong Chardonnay Chalk Hill 2013 $16.00 87 points
Rodney Strong Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2013 $13.00 89 points
Rombauer Vineyards Chardonnay 2014 $36.00 86+ points
Saintsbury Chardonnay 2012 $23.00 89 points
Save Me, San Francisco Wine Co. Chardonnay Calling All Angels 2013 $10.00 84 points
Schug Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2012 $20.00 82 points
Seaglass Chardonnay Unoaked 2012 $10.00 84 points
Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery Chardonnay Sonoma County 2013 $13.00 82 points
Seven Daughters Chardonnay 2013 $13.00 83 points
Simi Chardonnay 2013 $14.00 88+ points
Simple Life Winery Chardonnay 2013 $13.00 84 points
Slow Press Wines Chardonnay 2013 $13.00 83 points
Smith-Madrone Chardonnay 2012 $30.00 90 points
Smoking Loon Chardonnay 2012 $9.00 82 points
Smoking Loon Chardonnay Steelbird 2013 $9.00 83 points
Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2012 $24.00 88 points
Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay The Cutrer 2012 $33.00 90+ points
Sparrow Hawk Chardonnay Reserve 2014 $33.00 84 points
Spin The Bottle Cellars Chardonnay (Terravant) 2012 $6.00 76 points
St. Francis Chardonnay 2013 $13.00 87 points
St. Supéry Chardonnay Oak Free 2014 $21.00 78 points
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Chardonnay Karia 2013 $29.00 87 points
Stags’ Leap Winery Chardonnay 2013 $26.00 90+ points
Sterling Vineyards Chardonnay Vintner’s Collection 2013 $10.00 84 points
Stonestreet Chardonnay Broken Road 2011 $33.00 89 points
Sutter Home Winery Chardonnay NV $4.00 82 points
Taken Wine Co. Chardonnay Complicated 2013 $17.00 87+ points
Talbott Chardonnay Logan Sleepy Hollow Vineyard 2014 $21.00 86 points
Talbott Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands 2014 $34.00 88 points
Talley Vineyards Chardonnay Arroyo Grande Valley 2012 $24.00 90 points
The Calling Chardonnay Dutton Ranch 2012 $26.00 84 points
The Great American Wine Company by Rosenblum Chardonnay 2012 $10.00 77 points
The Hess Collection Chardonnay 2013 $21.00 87 points
The Hess Collection Chardonnay Hess Select 2013 $11.00 84 points
The Naked Grape (US) Chardonnay NV $6.00 79 points
The Other Guys Chardonnay Leese-Fitch 2013 $10.00 82+ points
The Seeker Chardonnay 2011 $9.00 86 points
Three Thieves Chardonnay 2013 $9.00 85 points
Toad Hollow Chardonnay Francine’s Selection 2013 $13.00 86 points
Toasted Head Chardonnay Barrel Aged (R.H. Phillips) 2013 $11.00 85+ points
Tolosa Winery Chardonnay Edna Ranch 2013 $24.00 90 points
Tom Gore Vineyards Chardonnay 2013 $13.00 86+ points
Treana Chardonnay White (Hope Family) 2013 $19.00 84 points
Trefethen Chardonnay 2013 $29.00 88 points
Trefethen Chardonnay Double T 2013 $16.00 86 points
True Myth Chardonnay 2013 $14.00 81 points
True Myth Chardonnay Paragon Vineyard 2012 $14.00 87+ points
Turning Leaf Chardonnay NV $6.00 82 points
Valley of the Moon Chardonnay 2012 $16.00 86 points
Vine Cliff Winery Chardonnay Carneros 2013 $36.00 85+ points
Virginia Marie Lambrix Chardonnay Bewitched 2013 $21.00 84 points
Wente Vineyards Chardonnay Morning Fog Livermore Valley 2014 $13.00 86+ points
Wente Vineyards Chardonnay Riva Ranch 2014 $19.00 87+ points
Wild Horse Chardonnay 2013 $16.00 85+ points
Wild Horse Chardonnay Unbridled 2014 $20.00 82 points
William Hill Winery Chardonnay Napa Valley 2013 $21.00 85+ points
William Hill Winery Chardonnay North Coast 2012 $14.00 86 points
Woodbridge Chardonnay 2014 $7.00 83+ points
Woodwork Wines Chardonnay Batch No. 12 2013 $11.00 83 points
ZD Wines Chardonnay 2012 $36.00 85+ points
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from → California Wine, Chardonnay, Legal Issues, Observations, Wine Values
The Personal Pursuit of Balance
2014 AUGUST 26
28 COMMENTS
tags: balance, bodybuilding, eBook, fitness, Huffington Post, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz Mountains
by Richard Jennings
This blog has been on a summer hiatus. After four years of devoting the bulk of my free time to this effort,
I decided it was time to take stock of how much effort it requires, how little I am receiving monetarily
from my writing and what else I could be profitably doing with that time.
I was also realizing I’m significantly heavier than I was when I started the blog, in much worse shape
physically, and that I’d been spending precious little time in recent months with friends, or potential new
friends, because I was so focused on getting to tastings, wine-related travel and meeting deadlines.
It’s also been clear to me for some time that I’m not really a blogger at heart. I don’t live to opine on the
same things others in the wine blogging community are writing about. I like to write about things others
aren’t exploring. I also like to take the time to be thoroughly conversant with my subject and get all my
facts right.
This site has evolved in the four year since it started into more of a collection of long, reference quality
pieces about producers, regions or varieties. Those pieces on a weekly basis have run from 5-12,000
words, are thoroughly researched and, usually, supported by extensive tasting notes. There’s no other
wine blog that has had that kind of content, on a regular basis. I’ve started to see there’s a very good
reason for that.
I’ve also been doing a condensed version of my weekly pieces here—less than 1,000 words—for
theHuffington Post. That seemed like a great opportunity to reach a more general audience when it was
first offered, and I am proud of the pieces I did for HuffPo.
HuffPo pays virtually none of their bloggers, me included, and after briefly highlighting wine related
columns in their own Wine section, and promoting many of the pieces I wrote in their daily emails to
subscribers, columns like mine eventually got relegated to the Taste section, where the main emphasis is
on food, dieting and recipes. So my pieces have received significantly less traffic there than they did in the
first year and a half or so on the site. And yet they require a lot of effort to condense, punch up for a
general audience and completely reformat for HuffPo. I expect to still do some on occasion when I think
it’s a particularly newsworthy topic for HuffPo, but not with my prior frequency.
Aside from the writing, tasting and research required as background for the writing, there’s been all the
time required to set up and maintain a blog.
Initially I had to learn WordPress to get the site going. WordPress and its thousands of plug ins keep
changing and expanding—which is a good thing, but also requires one to keep up.
When I was disappointed by my rankings on search engines after the first several months of writing for
this site, I also had to learn about search engine optimization, which ultimately required weeks of re-doing
my site, and its “metatags.”
Pictures are also vital to a successful blog, so I have spent a lot of time editing and uploading photos over
the past four years too. Unfortunately, the site that had hosted my thousands of pictures for 10 years
decided to go out of that business, so I lost the hundreds of photo links on my site overnight and had to
spend weeks of time I could ill afford uploading my photos to a new site and rebuilding my photo links
onFlickr, which I hope will be around for awhile.
In the last few years, I’ve enjoyed an unexpected opportunity that came to me as a result of my writing
here: being invited on media press trips to wine regions in various parts of the world.
The invites started to come pretty regularly after pieces I did on trips to places like Rioja and Uruguay,
and I had begun to set aside all my vacation time from work for those trips—trying to do one of these trips
nearly every other month.
Two particularly arduous trips this year, however, made me rethink the wisdom of taking advantage of
those opportunities.
RJ with circa 1960 Citroën convertible that was provided for a day of winery visits in Cahors
The organizers typically overschedule us media types, and on my last couple trips, not only were we going
at a breakneck pace, from early in the morning to very late at night, but also nearly half the time was spent
on activities the organizers insisted we attend, even over protests, that were not something of interest to
me or my readers. Traveling for an entire day each way, as was required to get to Israel or Cahors, in
Southwest France, is also pretty arduous in itself. Between that and the non-stop pace when one gets
there, I was feeling completely exhausted when I got back (after taking a week of “vacation” time).
Although I have particularly enjoyed and learned a lot on well organized trips to places like Rioja and
Champagne, in the future I will mainly organize my own trips focused on the producers and topics that
most interest me. I’m still open to a particularly interesting wine press trip, where I’m clear on the
itinerary in advance (and said yes last week to an October trip to Tuscany that promises to be very well
organized by the Chianti Consorzio), but will otherwise be turning down these opportunities in the future.
So what else have I learned in my several weeks off from the weekly grind of banging out pieces for this
blog and HuffPo?
I am thrilled to have started to get in shape again. I’ve lost over 25 pounds so far, and am now working
with a professional bodybuilder as my personal trainer to help me take off another 20 or so and to take
advantage of all the new science of bodybuilding that seems to have developed since the last time I had a
trainer.
working out, photo by James Hurst
I am going to fewer tastings, and being much more selective and strategic about what I attend. I continue
to receive a lot of samples for tasting, many of which are quite excellent, and I’m trying to keep up with
that flow and my reviews on CellarTracker without it negatively impacting my weight and health.
I’ve also begun to experiment with formats for reaching other and younger audiences with messages about
wines of note. That means I’m now on Instagram and Tumblr, learning how to best take advantage of
those apps. And I’m still trying to keep up a presence on Facebook and Twitter, which have helped drive
traffic to my site and other writing efforts in the past.
Ironically, in this hiatus period, I’ve been interviewed/profiled by a couple of online wine websites. The
first to appear was my responses to Jameson Fink’s very thoughtful questions for Grape Collective, where
I also did a Top 10 list of wine and food destinations in the greater San Francisco Bay area. The second
was Snooth.com, for which I wrote on assignment on a paid basis for about a year and a half, before they
lost their budget for those assignments.
And I’ve been reconnecting with friends and family members, as well as making at least a couple nights a
week “date night.” I’m thoroughly enjoying the time being social again.
So what’s ahead for me as a wine writer and this site, now that I’ve taken some time to think about it and
put some balance back in my life?
I don’t plan to try to keep up with a weekly grind of pieces of the length and thoroughness that I was
doing. It’s simply not sustainable, not if I want to continue to lead a balanced life, and I’m not sure there’s
that much of an audience for them anyway.
Instead, I will be revamping this site from a blog into a wine reference website, with sections that
highlight quick recommendations for some amazing, characterful and reasonably priced wines. That
revamping will take several months to finish, including making my full database of tasting notes finally
available on the site. I’m looking forward to the changes and creative process though.
I will also continue to work on longer pieces, but will do so with an eye to publishing them as eBooks on
wine regions. I’ve got close to enough material on the wonderful Santa Barbara County wine region to
make that my first eBook, to test out the format. I would probably follow that with an eBook on the terrific
but still relatively low profile California wine region I happen to live in: the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA.
RJ at Gold’s Gym in Santa Clara, photo by James Hurst
Now that I’m feeling much healthier again, I also want to explore wine as a part of a fit lifestyle—how to
get the health benefits of wine without the negative consequences of overindulgence. And I will pitch
stories to print and online publications on some of the regions and producers I’ve become expert on—
something I’ve had little time to properly do while I was churning out my lengthy “blog” pieces.
I continue to be enthused about wine as a topic, and as one of the major delights of life. I also remain
fascinated by the stories of artisanal winemakers and of wine regions and traditional types of wine. And I
want to do a better job than I’ve done to date of highlighting excellent, reasonably priced wines that
display exceptional character. By writing at such length here, I think I’ve buried the lead on occasion
about some of those amazing wines. It’s time to shorten my coverage and punch it up, so those wines can
hopefully benefit from greater attention.
I am thankful to my readers, wine writing colleagues, and the many whose work in wine continues to
inspire me. Now that I’m feeling more fit, more balanced and clearer about how I can help get out the
word about worthy wines, I look forward to doing a better job of that in the coming months.

Grocery Store Chardonnay Project

Transcription

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