2012 Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Private Reserve- USA, California, Napa Valley (1/1/2014)
OK, small world… I watched the documentary SOMM the night before and in a classic scene Ian melts down when he confuses this wine with a white hermitage. Then on New Years Eve, there it is, this wine sitting in the ice bucket! In honor of Ian, here you go.
The wine looks Straw colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Lemon, Apple, Medium Toast, and Orange Blossom. It tastes like Apple, Peach, Pear, Melon, Medium Toast, Vanilla, Stoniness, and Butterscotch. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Fleshy texture. The wine finishes Medium. (91 pts.)
Happy new year, Brigger. Enjoyed spending a # of occasions playing golf and drinking good wine with you in 2013. Look forward to more of that with you in 2014.
I had a glass of the 2014 Beringer Private Reserve Chardonnay [Napa] before a plate of grilled octopus and celery root puree (!). I didn’t want to like it as much as I did. Medium bodied, a lighter yellow color, and lots of fresh cut white fruit on the nose. There’s some oak, but its under control, and I actually like oaky CA chard anyways. It’s a pretty refined effort, not clunky. Much better than my normal California white gluggers. It’s fruity and a little light on the acidity. I’d give it an A-