2008 Rivers-Marie Chardonnay B. Thieriot Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (12/30/2011)
Flamboyant notes of orange oil, clover honey, lemon custard, marzipan and iris. A spritz of carbonation on the oily, full palate and then more citrus and custard and minerals. Medium plus, spicy finish. Perhaps another year in the cellar? Yummy, but seems it might benefit from some sorting out. (91 pts.)
I opened my first of the '07 a few weeks ago and the first couple of glasses were nice but with more air the wine completely fell apart to the point I had to dump the remainder. My experience seems to mirror others and I hope this issue is only to be found in the '07s.
I had the last of my two bottles just about a year ago. The first one was opened shortly after release; the second one in November 2010.
Both were delicious.
As I recall from my notes, the wine was rich with good citrus backbone (lemon oil). This is a wine that was better as it warmed up to room temperature.
Although I did not get any iris; it was clearly hibiscus.
[insert appropriate smiley here for that last comment]
Tom,
If you ever visit Montclair, NJ you should do it in the spring. We have a world famous, public iris garden, called the Presby Iris Garden. People really do come from all over the world to visit it. They are quite fragrant, as well as being very beautiful.
I need to drink another 2008 soon, as I really enjoyed that bottle the last time I had it. However, I have to agree with Russ on the 2007, as I had a similar experience with my last 2007 about 6 weeks ago, which was a disappointment. If you have them, drink them now with a chill, as I think storing the 2007 any longer is just unwise.
PS–Aren’t the 2010s being released next month? Looking forward to that. As a side note, I tried the 2010 Sonoma Coast PN over Halloween and that bottle IMO is going to kick some serious ass. Just excellent.
Pretty cool. I have been many times to NJ but did not know about these gardens. Thanks for the tip.
Your notes have encouraged me to check in on the 2009 version of the RM Chardonnay.
Thanks.