TNs: Three solid CA Chards

WINE TALK
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  • 2007 Bjornstad Chardonnay - USA, California, Sonoma County (10/18/2009)
    14.2% alcohol. Light yellow color. Lovely bouquet of apple and pears, with a mineral edge. In the mouth, quite racy and tasty. Lots of fruit. Youthful, but with hints of minerals and fig coming underneath the forward fruit. Good acidity and a solid finish. Excellent value here. B+/A-
  • 2007 Gary Farrell Chardonnay Russian River Selection - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (10/17/2009)
    14.2% alcohol. Nice, if uncomplicated, wine. Standard yellow color. Nice bouquet of apple, pears, and stones. In the mouth, a touch of sweetness to the straightforward fruit flavors with a bit of a sappy texture. Nice acidity. Solid finish. B+
  • 2004 Williams Selyem Chardonnay Heintz - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (10/16/2009)
    15.2% alcohol. Rich yellow color. Initially some dusty oak on the nose, which blew off with a little air to reveal a lovely bouquet of apple, fig, pear, honey, and a touch of minerals. In the mouth, oily in texture, with a candied lemon zest note underscoring the apple, pear, and fig fruit. Good minerality and acidity. Long finish that was quite compelling. A-

Posted from CellarTracker

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Tom;

Good notes, thanks. Question, the highest alcohol, by 1 whole pt, wine got your highest ranking. Is this a personal preference (high alcohol) thing, or did the lemon zest and sweet fig fruit cover the alcohol? The WS sounds like an interesting chard, but I don’t typically buy chards at over 14.5% no less 15%. Interested to hear.

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Gordon – the WS Chard style is unique in my experience. It’s big and full-blown, but I tend not to get any hints of alcohol. Actually, it is an exception to my general rule of liking lower-octane Chard with lots of crispness and minerality. There’s something about how the whole package moves together that just works for my palate.