Hi All -
I am curious if folks have a list of high quality California Chardonnay producers?
I already know Marcassin, but am curious what others folks would consider in the same class / quality?
Any help would be most appreciated. A good friend of mine is looking for good recommendations and wanted to share a few names with him to try out / keep an eye out for.
Thanks!!
Rivers Marie
Ramey
DuMol
Hartford Court
Chateau Montelena
Mayacamas
Peter Michael
Aubert
Kongsgaard
Rivers Marie
Pahlmeyer
Beringer PR
Varner
Ceritas
Roar
Rhys
Neyers
Arcadian
Failla
Morley
Rochioli
Hanzell
Mt. Eden
Walter Hansel
Just off top of my head.
I’m actually drinking a 2017 Talley Arroyo Grande Chard right now, and am blown away by the qpr in this!
Try Martinelli. Helen Turley used to be the consulting winemaker there and she sources fruit from some of their vineyards still for Marcassin.
For me, Aubert, Peter Michael and Kongsgaard are the top tier other than Marcassin, but depends what kind of Chardonnay you enjoy as different producers obviously vary in style.
Check out Walter Scott from Oregon as well. I’m probably a bit late to the party, but the wines are killer. The X Novo Chard is crazy good.
Agreed and I’d put Morlet in that grouping.
Chards I also buy at maybe a level just beneath those are Rochioli and Littorai.
Check out Maxem in the $75 range. Excellent juice and great QPR.
Aubert and Vice Versa
Littorai
Kalin Cellars 1995 D
Sandhi
Ceritas
Rhys
Aubert
Garden Creek, $60.
I drink a lot of Cal Chard. I agree with all of the above. Peter Michael has been a long time favorite of mine, but I see Kistler missing from the list. They’ve been making Chards for ages and their Cuvée Cathleen is top notch.
This is based upon only one bottle, but I was impressed with tne La Rochelle Ferrington Vineyard Chard.
If you prefer higher acid Chards, flinty and almost austere (with no oak), the field narrows considerably. Out of the Chards I’ve tried from CA, I would say only three so far fit that category for my palate:
Ceritas Zephyr
Enfield Haynes Vineyard
Failla Chuy Big Egg
Maybe the more experienced tasters can fill in others in this category.
Most of my faves have been mentioned with the exception of Kutch. Though his '18 Trout Gulch is a bit tight now, I think it will develop into a quasi-legend in 3-5 years, similar to his '14 SCM which is my favorite domestic I’ve ever had.
Smith Madrone. I think that they are still offering $1 shipping.
Kutch, Model Farm, Arnot Roberts, Rhys and Liquid Farm fit your mold of the first two.
I haven’t had Littorai in a while, but if you like Failla they are similar.
Adam, if you haven’t tried the Chards from Lingua Franca, Cameron, and Walter Scott in Oregon, they are fantastic (read: not lean, but balanced fruit and acids) in a less opulent style compared to the big hitters:
Morlet, Peter Michael, Kistler, Marcassin, and to a lesser extent, Aubert. I don’t consider Aubert as blousy or oak heavy as the others. YMMV
This is the way.
Mount Eden
Ceritas
Stony Hill
Kalin
Hanzell