Oenophiles,
Time to pick your brains for technical knowledge. Chateau Montelena has been on my mind since an awesome 2008 Chardonnay of theirs I tasted recently at Alo restaurant. My specific note was that it was a perfect balance of Burgundy delicacy and bold California fruit flavor. I particularly noted the light butteriness and oaking that served as a complement to the wine’s balance rather than the heavy use of both which is often designed to cover up flaws in the wine which I was warned about at my first ever California Wine Fair in Toronto.
Well, in other threads it was posted and verified later by me using this global interconnected data thingy we’re all hooked up to and on that they do indeed use a mere 8% new oak and zero malolactic on their Chardonnay. Well, the mere 8% new oak explains the light and perfectly balanced use of oak as a spice in their Chardonnay… but what about the complementary light butter flavor?
I have always been taught that malolactic is what is responsible for that buttery flavor and texture in wine. So if none is done, how can it be present in the Montelena Chardonnay? Is this because there is some natural malolactic occuring anyway in the winemaking process? A byproduct of the sparing use of new oak?
I must admit I’m very intrigued here. I have avoided California wines in general and Chardonnay in particular because of what I feel is heavy oaking and malolactic resulting in pencil and oil shakes instead of wine, but the Robert Biali Rocky Ridge Zinfandel and now the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay are really game changers for me here.
Anyway, feel free to chime in with your expertise if you have a knowledgeable answer for me or your psychological evaluation if you think I’m crazy because there is no actual butteriness to the Montelena Chardonnay and I’m imagining things. In pre-emptive defense to the latter, I have had unoaked Chardonnay before and it honestly tastes nothing like the Montelena. It’s like bitter unripe apples to me. The Montelena tastes to me like fresh apples that have been lightly dressed in sweet butter in comparison.