LIQUID FARM / CHARD DOUBLE BLIND- DALLAS - Classic Wine Storage- Dallas (4/5/2014)
This was one of several similar tastings done around the country on or around 4/4/14 to mark the date and its significance to Liquid Farm (their flagship wine is designated “FOUR”). The rules were 15 wines, 100% chard, 2008-2012 vintage with a $ range of $25 to $150. Liquid Farm contributed the 3 LF wines plus the Wilde Farm and the rest were brought by the 14 attendees which included several people from CT and WB.
Starter Wines
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1999 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne
Tasted non-blind as a starter wine to precede a 15 bottle chard double blind. I was still busy getting things set up and didn’t take detailed notes but was very impressed with the creamy texture. Easily a top 3 sparkler for me in the last 12 months or so. (93 pts.)
Chardonnay Double Blind
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2009 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
First wine in a lineup of 15 blind chards. Very nice but subtle nose of tropical fruits and caramel. The palate has peaches, citrus and a good amount of spice. Rich, almost oily texture. Extremely dry with some evidence of oak influence. Long length finish that is consistent. Medium plus acidity. Hold for a few years. (92 pts.) -
2011 Ceritas Chardonnay Porter-Bass Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Wine #2 in a blind lineup of 15 chards (preceded by Rhys Alpine 2009). Very weak nose and couldn’t get anything discernible. Tastes of sour apples and a hint of barrel toast. Very short finish. Not a lot going on with this one. (88 pts.) -
2011 Dutton-Goldfield Chardonnay Dutton Ranch/Rued Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Green Valley
Wine #3 in a blind lineup of 15 chards (Ceritas Porter Bass 2011). Great nose of light fruit with a touch of heat. Very sour, tart palate with lemon and ginger. Similar medium plus length finish with a hint of barrel toast at the very end. Wine seemed incredibly young and seems to need a few to several more years of age. Medium plus acidity. 90-91 (90 pts.) -
2012 TOR Kenward Family Wines Chardonnay Durell Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
Wine #4 in a blind lineup of 15 chards (preceded by Dutton Goldfield Rued 2011). Wine was determined to be flawed. For entertainment, here is my irrelevant note. Nose of cooked grapes. Very oily, flabby texture. Weird unidentifiable fruit profile with finish that was extremely spicy. NR (flawed) -
2012 Massican Chardonnay Gemina Hyde Vineyards - USA, California, Napa Valley
Wine #5 in a line up of 15 blind chards (preceded by TOR Durell 2012, which was flawed). Very generic chardonnay nose and similar palate with a lot of tart apple flavors. Consistent medium length finish. Medium acidity and very little oak evident. 87-88 (87 pts.) -
2012 Liquid Farm Chardonnay White Hill - USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
Wine #6 in a line up of 15 blind chards (preceded by Massican Gemina 2012). Lemon, pears, saline, minerals. Very little oak influence. Medium length finish that is mostly tart pears. Medium plus acidity. (87 pts.) -
2012 Liquid Farm Chardonnay Golden Slope - USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
Wine #7 in a line up of 15 blind chards (preceded by Liquid Farm White Hill 2012). Lemon, apples, some minerals and a hint of barrel toast. Medium length consistent finish. Medium plus acidity. For some reason, this wine didn’t do much for me at this spot in the tasting. It didn’t seem to have any characteristics that set it apart, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Seems to be a very food friendly wine. (87 pts.) -
2011 Failla Chardonnay Haynes Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, Coombsville
Wine #8 in a line up of 15 blind chards (preceded by Liquid Farm Golden Slope 2012). Very expressive nose with toffee, tropical fruit and some spice. On the palate it had all of the above plus creme brulee and peaches. Very long length and pleasant finish that shows a hint barrel toast at the very end. Solid wine that could probably use a few more years of age. (93 pts.) -
2011 Lioco Chardonnay Hanzell Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
Wine #9 in a line up of 15 blind chards (preceded by Failla Haynes 2011). Very weak nose that didn’t really show much of anything. The palate was very tart overall with some green apple, caramel cake and shrimp. Fairly short finish. Medium acidity. (85 pts.) -
2012 Wilde Farm Wines Chardonnay Brosseau - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Wine #10 in a line up of 15 blind chards (preceded by Lioco Hanzell 2011). Very strange nose that gave the impression that the wine extremely cold but it was around 60 degrees or warmer when I tasted it. Somewhat generic chardonnay nose. The palate was very tart with some lemon and maybe a hint of apples. Consistent medium length finish. Medium acidity. 88-89 (88 pts.) -
2010 Sandhi Wines Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict - USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
Wine #11 in a line up of 15 blind chards (preceded by Wilde Farm Brosseau 2012. The nose of floral, honeysuckle and lemons. More of the same on the palate with the addition of some spice that carries through the medium plus length finish. Very little oak influence. Medium acidity. Really enjoyed this one. (93 pts.) -
2011 Varner Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Bee Block - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Wine #12 in a line up of 15 blind chards (preceded by Sandhi Sanford & Benedict 2010. Very interesting nose that I had a hard time putting into words. My first thought was that someone brought a non-chard wine as it seems to have some rousanne and marsanne elements to it. I did pick up some vanilla along with a combination of floral and honey. On the palate it was similar with the addition of tart apples. It had a medium length finish that also included some spice. Medium acidity. I think this wine needs a few to several more years. Even though I only had 1-1.5 oz of it and only had it in my glass for 15 minutes or so, it seems to change quite a bit. 90-92 (90 pts.) -
2008 Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Wine #13 in a line up of 15 blind chards (preceded by Varner Spring Ridge Bee Block 2011). Very elegant nose of lemons, oyster shell and saline. On the palate, it had lemons, apples and baking spices. Extremely long finish (longer than any other in this lineup) that was very consistent with the palate. Medium acidity. Very little oak influence was evident. This was easily my favorite of the tasting and seems to have a long life ahead of it. (94 pts.) -
2012 Liquid Farm Chardonnay Four - USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
Wine #14 in a line up of 15 blind chards (preceded by Mount Eden 2008). Great nose of caramel and lemon. In the mouth, this wine was palate coating with a great powdery texture. Tastes of butterscotch, lemons, some tropical fruit. Medium-long length finish. Medium plus acidity. There is certainly some oak here but it is not overwhelming. Drinkable now but I suspect will be better in a few years. Solid effort. (92 pts.) -
2009 Domaine Francois et Antoine Jobard Meursault En La Barre - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Wine #15 in a line up of 15 blind chards (preceded by Liquid Farm FOUR 2012). Unfortunately this was the last wine and my note taking patience ran out one wine too soon. I did note that it had a very classic chardonnay nose and the palate was on the tart end of the fruit spectrum. (91 pts.)
Dessert Wines
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2005 Château Climens - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Tasted non-blind as one of 2 dessert wines following a 15 bottle chardonnay double blind. Wine was decanted for ~3 hours. As soon as I smelled it, I put my tasting note cards up since it would take quite a bit of words to fully describe this wine. The nose jumps out of the glass and is one of the more complex smelling and tasting wines I have ever had. The finish went on for minutes. The wine is obviously very young but is a heck of an experience that should improve with time. (95 pts.)
Other than the one flawed wine, we had one heck of a lineup. Here is a summary of the average results based on the 11 people that rated them:
92.1 Sandhi Sanford & Benedict 2010* ($55)
91.4 Mount Eden 2008 ($60)
91.3 Liquid Farm FOUR 2011 ($74)
91.1 Massican Gemina 2012 ($50)
91.0 Dutton-Goldfield Rued 2011 ($50)
90.7 Failla Haynes Vineyard ($55)
90.6 Liquid Farm Golden Slope 2012 ($50)
90.5 Antoine Jobard Meursault En La Barre 2009 ($70)
90.2 Rhys Alpine Vineyard 2009 ($69)
89.9 Wilde Farm Brosseau 2012 ($35)
89.6 Varner Spring Ridge Vineyard Bee Block 2011 ($45)
89.6 Ceritas Porter-Bass 2011
88.6 Liquid Farm White Hill 2012 ($40)
88.1 Lioco Hanzell Vineyard 2011 ($50)
FLAWED TOR Durell Vineyard 2012 ($55)
The Sandhi is asterisked as it ran out before everyone could taste and wasn’t scored by everyone. Prices are appox and intended to be release prices. Let me know if I have any materially incorrect.
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