Patience is a Virtue part spat – 2017 Handley Chardonnay ‘Water Tower’

Dan_Kravitz · September 29, 2018, 11:07pm

see below

G_Bienstock · September 30, 2018, 3:36am

I sold Handley and worked with Mila back in the day. They were solid wines with Mila’s soul. Estate Chard was a winner.

Dan_Kravitz · August 9, 2020, 8:34pm

Medium pale straw color. The aromas are muted but quincy and slightly floral. On the palate the wine is high in acidity and straightforward, with simple flavors that do not live up to the promise of the aromas. I’ve had only a few Handley wines, probably none in a decade. I’ve always thought of this as a semi-revered producer, a pioneer in a great but unlikely and until recently unloved terroir. I had hoped for more. Rated 85. Meh.

I got more. After one glass, I put the bottle in the fridge and revisited over the next three days. The second day was not very different. On the third day, a mature wine emerged, with the quince flavors now pronounced, accompanied by a hint of lime reminiscent of the Santa Cruz Mountains. On the mid palate the flowers emerged, the acid dropped, some amplitude replaced it and I had something close to what I’d hoped for. Far from a great wine, but one with some subtlety, minerality and depth, worthy of attention and rated 88.5. By the fourth day, the peak had passed. The wine was starting to fade.

I think with 3 – 5 years of bottle age, this could be better. I’m not investing in a bunch, but will get 2 or 3 more bottles and try again in 2022. I want this to be good.

Dan Kravitz

Marcus_Goodfellow · August 9, 2020, 10:56pm

Medium pale straw color. The aromas are muted but quincy and slightly floral. On the palate the wine is high in acidity and straightforward, with simple flavors that do not live up to the promise of the aromas. I’ve had only a few Handley wines, probably none in a decade. I’ve always thought of this as a semi-revered producer, a pioneer in a great but unlikely and until recently unloved terroir. I had hoped for more. Rated 85. Meh.

I got more. After one glass, I put the bottle in the fridge and revisited over the next three days. The second day was not very different. On the third day, a mature wine emerged, with the quince flavors now pronounced, accompanied by a hint of lime reminiscent of the Santa Cruz Mountains. On the mid palate the flowers emerged, the acid dropped, some amplitude replaced it and I had something close to what I’d hoped for. Far from a great wine, but one with some subtlety, minerality and depth, worthy of attention and rated 88.5. By the fourth day, the peak had passed. The wine was starting to fade.

I think with 3 – 5 years of bottle age, this could be better. I’m not investing in a bunch, but will get 2 or 3 more bottles and try again in 2022. I want this to be good.

Dan Kravitz

I admire the sentiment of your post very much.