This was a fun and humbling event. Cellar Tracker averages and Pro reviews mean nothing when it is blind. I find too many are biased on wines based on others scores so go more blind and you will score the wines more accurately. Some wine drinkers think their wine is wine of the night before the tasting starts but when blind you have not clue which is your wine. I brought a Ridge Monte Bello and would not have paid $20 for it had I know how bad it would have shown in this format. Do more blind tastings people!
2016 Sea Slopes Fort Ross Winery Chardonnay- USA, California, Sonoma County, Fort Ross - Seaview
Starter wine to the tasting. Minerals, apple, spice and shells. Medium plus finish and good acidity. This tends to be one of my top whites under $20 for 2018. Excellent value. Will sample on day 2. (90 pts.)
2012 Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet
Drinking at peak right now. Floral, orange peel, sea shells and spices. This is balanced and delivers the classic Burgundy experience. Medium finish. Drink now or hold for only a few years. Don’t wait. (91 pts.)
2013 Ridge Chardonnay Monte Bello- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Blind Tasting Wine 1: This is why I love blind tastings. This was my wine. It featured lemon, spice, apple and oak. Short to medium finish. Nothing wrong with this wine but nothing great. I guessed Raymond LVE but it was Ridge. None of the six guests guessed right. (89 pts.)
2015 Raymond Vineyard & Cellar Chardonnay LVE Collection- USA, California, Napa Valley
Blind Tasting Wine 2: On paper this would have finished dead last. For me it was the second best wine of the night. Lemon, spices, floral and sour apples. Multilayered finish and medium to long. More personality than the Ridge prior to it. I guessed the 2015 Patrick Javillier due to the lack of oak. (91 pts.)
2013 Miner Family Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard Carneros- USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
Blind Wine 3: On par with the Ridge score wise. Lemon, spices, some oak and medium finish. Nothing bad about this wine but nothing great either. Guessed Ridge but it was Miner. (89 pts.)
2015 Domaine Patrick Javillier Meursault Les Tillets- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Blind Wine 4: My third favorite of the night. Orange peel, minerals, spices and sulfur. This adds some match stick on the medium plus finish. Nice wine and balanced overall. Guessed Miner but it was Javillier. (90 pts.)
2012 Far Niente Chardonnay- USA, California, Napa Valley
Blind Tasting Wine 6: Oak!!! Fruit tried to show through but too much oak. Some lemon and spices but oak. I would drink tis but not the most balanced wine. Medium finish. Guessed Far Niente and it was Far Niente. (88 pts.)
2014 SIXTO Chardonnay Uncovered- USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Bonus wine in our blind tasting. Heavy oak, lemon, spices and cardboard. Not bad but not good. Lacks personality and overpriced. I would rather drink a Columbia Crest H3. (85 pts.)
2013 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series- Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
Blind Wine Five: Spice, floral, Carmel and lemon. Biggest wine of the night and longest finish. Excellent wine drinking well right now. This Art Series has one Chard tastings before and was all six drinkers wine of the night!!! Old reliable and congrats Gary. 92 plus. (92 pts.)
Yes knew the wines and paper bag them. I know I would never buy a Far Niente wine as it is oak city. Sixto (WA your neck of the woods) is a mess right now. I like their Syrah wines better.
14 is a really hot year in WA, haven’t had this recently, not a white vintage. Surprised by FN as the no malo treatment means it needs some oak to add some balance, but they generally only use 40-50% new, so interesting you got so much wood.
Leonard I agree. It could also have been an off bottle. Some of the wine shops I buy from unfortunately have the vertical treatment under a light. I did not get this at Total Wine but I love how all their best wines are on top of the shelf and under the light.
2014 SIXTO Chardonnay Uncovered - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (10/13/2018)
Blind Chardonnay Tasting (Scott and Amy’s House): Bonus wine in our blind tasting. Heavy oak, lemon, spices and cardboard. Not bad but not good. Lacks personality and overpriced. I would rather drink a Columbia Crest H3.
Day 2: Better as I would expect. Lemon, subtle spices, minerals, orange peel and oak has laid down a bit. Pretty complex wine and much better. This is why I love doing 3 day wine reviewing. 89 points (89 points)
I find recent Leeuwin to very primary and intense but without complexity when young. I wouldn’t be surprised if they gained complexity with age. Just guessing, though.
2014 SIXTO Chardonnay Uncovered (USA, Washington, Columbia Valley)
Bonus wine in our blind tasting. Heavy oak, lemon, spices and cardboard. Not bad but not good. Lacks personality and overpriced. I would rather drink a Columbia Crest H3.
Day 2: Better as I would expect. Lemon, subtle spices, minerals, orange peel and oak has laid down a bit. Pretty complex wine and much better. This is why I love doing 3 day wine reviewing. 89 points
Day 3: Tropical fruit, dust, subtle oak, orange peel and minerality. Even better. 90 points
Recommendation: Cellar and try in 2020 and beyond. An amazing transformation for this wine.
True. But based on its track record that should follow in a decade or more. Being an Australian Chardonnay under screw cap one cannot afford to wait without the fear of premox.
I’m wondering if you saved all the wines over three days or just that one? I wonder what the others would have been like and how they would have transformed? Cheers.
Larry unfortunately the only ones I saved were the Sixto and finished the Ridge on day 2 and was not finding it transformed like the Sixto. I would not give up on Ridge as I have loved there wines in the past and one member said he was also disappointed in the Ridge performance so I will seek out another bottle and try it over 3.
Happy to see the good word on the Leeuwin, as I think the 13 is the vintage I have a bottle of myself. It’s probably up to bat sometime before the end of the year.