Hello,
I saw the release of Chardonnay in my inbox today. Has anyone tried this? Would be interested in thoughts or what it may compare to?
Thanks!
From the offer:
The Charles Ranch bottling is barrel fermented natively in neutral French oak, without intervention, without fining, without filtering or stirring of the lees. We feel this hands-off approach yields a wine of incredible truth and promise.
Fort Ross - Seaview | 2016 Charles Ranch | 12.8% Alcohol
The Fort Ross-Seaview Chardonnay bottling is from the rugged 35-year-old Charles Ranch hillside vineyard, with some of the older pre-phylloxera plantings of chardonnay in California. Between 1,100 and 1,200 feet of elevation, the vineyard sits on well-drained, rocky clay soils. These old Sonoma Coast vines yield naturally shy crops that offer incredible depth, density, concentration, and finesse. Notes of stone fruits, lime blossom, white flowers, wet gravel and rock minerality are delicately laced throughout this wine. Fine, yet focused, acidity balances the rich mid-palate, giving way to a long-lasting finish.
Opened yesterday. I have half a bottle left, so will post an update if anything changes dramatically on day 2:
There is a touch of cork taint, which is a shame, and doubtlessly had a negative effect on the overall experience. Nonetheless, this is a wine still in an embryonic stage, with tons of unrealized potential. Initially quite disappointing, but gaining in complexity as it took on air and evolved over the course of an evening. The nose and palate both dominated by lemons- lemon curd, lemon bars, preserved lemons.
Remember when the teachers would elect one student to go outside and clap out the blackboard erasers? And the poor student would be left coughing in a cloud of chalk dust? That exact smell comes out after a few hours, along with all those lemons, and the unfortunate top note of stinky TCA.
Focused core of acidity that zips down the center of the tongue. Were it not for the cork taint, I think this would benefit from time in the bottle. Given the energy I’m tasting here, I could go for a long time and be the better for it.