Concha y Toro Trio Chardonnay blend 2007

Here’s a good value white from a well-known producer – a bit surprising that it’s no longer available at ANBL.  Perhaps they’re simply out of stock, since 2007 seems to be the current release.  In that case we can look forward to the 2008 next summer.

— Peanutman’s review —

I'm not too much into white wines. I like Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc, but other whites are not very appealing to me, especially when too dry. I'll have to expand on my tastes when summer roles around. I remember buying the Trio with the Sauvignon Blanc and another that had Chardonnay for my birthday bash last year. I was really surprised with the Chardonnay version and found it better than the Sauvignon Trio. I guess I bought another bottle of the Chardonnay trio as I found one in my little cellar this past weekend. Really good wine for the price. The colour is pale yellow with some greenish tints. The aromas are of fresh fruit, a little bit of lemon and lime, but what I noticed mostly was honey. The taste is fruity and fresh, a little acidic (especially with salted pretzels)but with good structure. I forgot it in the fridge for a couple of days and it was still good on day three. Good value for money in my book but not available at NBLC anymore. 

Price:$15.79 (no longer listed)
Value: 5 / 5
Grape: Chardonnay (70%), Pinot Grigio (15%), Pinot Blanc (15%)

Bonterra Chardonnay 2007

For immediate purposes, this is the most useful of Iron Chef’s New Year’s wines; a good chardonnay at a reasonable price that (unlike the other New Year’s wines) is still widely available.

— Iron Chef’s Review —

Nose: Butter, Oak, Pear, Nutmeg and Cinnamon
Taste: Pear and Melon with a nice spicy edge of Nutmeg/Cinnamon and Cumin. The finish was very creamy and full.
Overall: A very dependable Lobster wine

California- Mendocino
13.5%
Price: $21.99
Value: 4/5
Score: 89
UPC: 082896780419

Mission Hill Five Vineyards Chardonnay 2007

I’ve mentioned before that our wine drinking follows strong seasonal patterns: white in the summer, red in the winter. We do occasionally drink white in the winter – especially with Kelly’s fantastic homemade sushi.

— Iron Chef’s Review —

Nose- Peaches, Pear and Pineapple with some sugar dusted flowers- lilacs maybe.
Taste- Peaches in syrup. Vanilla and oak. Good Crisp acidity. Some nutmeg also.
Overall a very dependable white that is always the same. A tad bit expensive compared to the Chileans.

Price: $17.99
Value: 2.5/5
Score: 88
Alcohol: 13.5%
Region: Canada, British Columbia
UPC: 776545995148

Caymus Conundrum

Welcome to Joel, a new contributor! He sent me this review with the comment that “I tune in from time to time and see what people are sipping on so I thought I would take a second and through my hat into the ring with this review.” And a good hat it is, too.

--- Joel's Review ---

As with everyone else these days it seems that whites are the order of the day. Here are my thoughts on the Conundrum.

Produced by Caymus this is one of those "everything but the kitchen sink wines" made up of a number of unnamed grapes.

Day bright moderate gold straw color with watery rim.
Intense nose of stone fruit and perfume and fresh citrus, orange blossom.
Medium plus to full body wine. Fruit forward with moderate plus acidity and moderate plus length on the finish.

Very aromatic white with what I would guess to have a good bit of Viognier and Chardonnay. I'm having a hard time to figure if there is oak or just a lot of texture from malo fermentation.

All in all a good white with lots of guts...a nice alternative to a full Chardonnay. Was great with some simple sea food and citrus flavors.

A bit on the $$ side. Also for me I tend to go towards more lean and crisp styles of white.

Price $35
Value 3/5
Score 87
Region: California
Grape: Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, Muscat, Viognier (other unspecified)
UPC: 017224707134

Marques de Casa Concha Chardonnay 2007

After I got this review from Iron Chef, I ran out to get a bottle of this. But I won't tell you what I thought of it right now - I'll post a comment instead.

--- Iron Chef's Review ---

This wine always gets great scores from the Wine press, The Wine Advocate - 91 pts, Wine Spectator 91 pts and such, and I usually try the new vintage as it arrives. Tasted with Lobster Risotto, on NB date eve.
Appearance: Straw yellow with streaks of green.
Nose: Freshly churned butter, Pineapple, Pear and peaches. Some other tropical fruits - papaya maybe? Floral notes also. Some oak and pepper integrated into the various fruit aromas. Deep/ Rich nose with a pile of stuff going on. Just Great.
Taste: Butterscotch and Vanilla, and Tropical Fruits- papaya again and Pear. There was nuttiness also that I didn't smell until I tasted the wine. Honey and pepper mixed in late in the palate to make a great and long finish. Highly textured and beautiful wine.
Overall- This was always a great wine, but in the past the oak notes were first on the palate and now they are last and mixed more with honey. This wine has really advanced over the years, more refined, especially when it comes to integrating the oak into the background of the wine. The one of the best Chardonnays, for that matter, one of the best white wines I have had.

Price: $23.99
Value: 7/5
Score: 94
Region: Chile
Alcohol: 14%
UPC: 7804320411149

Acadie Prestige Chardonnay

If we post reviews of white wine, do you think that will make the sun appear?

--- Michelle's Review ---

Now is the time for white! Typically this summer I have been surrounding myself with Pinot Grigios and Sauvignon Blancs. But rejoice! I have expanded my horizons and hopped on another white bandwagon. Can you believe, a chardonnay! It seems people where chardonnayed out from the boom a few years ago. Where if it wasn't a California chardonnay it wasn't worth your time …kinda like the Aussie Shiraz ship. Its sailed! SO..I am so pleased to say that I found a grand Chardonnay. I had this one at a dinner party last week. We had a few snacks but nothing to over power what we were there to do, drink wine. This one was so pleasantly chilled. Of course it helps when your wine fridge literally tells you the optimum temperature for your vino. Love it. So this was a beautiful golden hue. Smelled of oak, some hay, and I got a whiff of mature peaches. Strange. The taste was crisp without a lot of dryness I sometimes associate with chardonnays. This one my friends is dangerously drinkable.

Price; $20.79
Value: 4/5
Rating: 88
Producer: Cave Cooperative du Haut Poitou
UPC: 3359770000565

Gallo Family Chardonnay 2007 Box wine

Sounds like this is the perfect white BBQ wine. Now if we just get a few days of summer...

— Iron Chef’s Review —

Recession, Recession - it’s Box wine time.
Colour: Pale straw to golden with green-ish tints
Nose: Buttery oaky notes. Full on Malo treatment. Very fragrant
Taste: Butter, oak, almonds, dried apricots. Some plasticine or rubber bands deep in the palate- but very slight.
Overall: Did not guess this to be a Box wine in a blind tasting, very nice wine. Enjoyed the Malo/buttery notes. Really impressed. You have got to try this.

Price: $34.48 / 3000 ml
Value 5/5
Score 86
Alcool 13.5%
Region: California
UPC: 085000012574

Penfolds Thomas Hyland Chardonnay 2006

This weekend's wine from Iron Chef

--- Iron Chef's Review ---

Nose: Cantaloupe Mellon, Pineapple, Lemon curd and oaky notes. Very pleasant aromas.
Taste: Crisp woody favours, Butter Rum ice cream. Some wood tannins giving off nutmeg, vanilla and cinnamon. Some copper tastes late in the palate.
Overall - a very steady wine that was given the full malo and oak treatment. A style of Chardonnay that I like. Finish was shorter than expected much shorter. I think the original price was something like $24 to $27 compared to $21.55 in SAQ, which is too expensive. I just remember this wine being very, very good in the past- not just steady.

Retail Price: $17.99- Sale wine
Score: 85
Value: 2/5
Region: South Australia
Alcohol 13%
UPC #012354071940

Santa Rita 120 Chardonnay 2007

Yesterday Anon posted a comment to the effect that fancy wine is all well and good, but what most people want most of the time is something quaffable at a reasonable price. I couldn't agree more, so here's a review from Iron Chef of a reasonably priced winner. Kelly will have a review of a bargain red coming up next.

But remember, THIS IS NOT AN EXCLUSIVE CLUB. Anyone who drinks wine from ANBL and has an opinion is welcome to post a review in the "Make a Suggestion" thread (or comment on a wine that has already been reviewed). This is all about getting the conversation going.

--- Iron Chef's Review ---

Tropical Friuts of Pineapple, mango, kiwi and caramilk bars greet the nose- faint oaky aromas of vanilla. Palate was complex- lots going on. Velvety Creme- creme brulee. Mango gelato, tonnes of vanilla but without that mouth scratching woody popsicle stick stuff that sometimes goes hand in hand. The fruit was vibrant and fresh. One drawback was a touch of Anti-acid mouth finish like Tums. Liked it more than the Aresti but not as much as the Medalla.

Retail Price: $12.99
Score 89.5
Value 4.5/5
Region: chile, Maule Valley
Grape: Chardonnay
Tasted: Jan 2009
Alcohol: 14%
UPC: 089419007183

PS- Thinking about Santa Rita- I do not think there is a line-up of wines that is more solid than the Santa Rita at ANBL at this time. Of the wines that I have had, Santa Rita 120 Sauv Blanc and Chardonnay, Reserva Line of Sauv Blanc, Cabernet, Medalla level Cab and Chardonnay, and the Florestas Sauv Blanc and the Petite Syrah they have all been highly impressive. I would recommend this group of wines over any other at the appropriate price points.

Santa Rita Medalla Real Chardonnay 2006

it's not really white wine weather, but we seem to have a white wine theme this week. I do drink more white in the summer and more (and heavier) red in the winter, but sometimes the food - or the mood - just calls for a white, no matter what the temperature is outside.

So here's a white wine review from Iron Chef that I lifted from the Make a Suggestion thread. And remember, while you can post reviews on that thread, if you want you can send me a review at nbwines /at/ gmail /dot/ com - that will keep up the suspense before I post it.

Ok, here's Iron Chef's review:

---

The nose was full of malolactic Treatment (from Wikipedia- Malolactic fermentation (or sometimes malolactic conversion) is a process of a change used in winemaking where tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid). Aromas of Pears + Peaches reminded me of elementary school lunches of Del Monte Fruit Cocktail. Other than that the alcohol was front and centre on the nose- Hot Hot Hot.
On the Palate -again the Pears in heavy sauce and a smooth texture- like milk. Some spicy wood favours emerged- nutmeg maybe. I found that baking spice characteristic to be something that separated the wine from its peers that I have had in the past. Complex- a lot going on. And Hot Alcohol. A really enjoyable glass of wine. But not your unoaked version of the grape 4 sure.

Retail Price: $22.99
Score: 91
Value: 4/5
Region: Chile
Grape: Chardonnay
Alcool: 14.5%
Tasted: Jan 2009
UPC: 089419007213

Chateau Fuissé Pouilly-Fuissé "Les Brulés" 2006

Here is a review from Chris Macdonald taken from the "New Year's Wine" thread:

Our New Year wine was the Chateau Fuissé Pouilly-Fuissé "Les Brulés" 2006. A bit outside our normal snack bracket at $54.29 but the lobster was cheap.

Clear, clean and mildly golden appearance. Reltively intense nose for a Burgundy with a mix of ripe apples, melon and mild cumin? It became more tropical as it opened up. Very tasty and enjoyable. Med-bodied, good fruit/acid balance with a long finish.

Price: $54.29
Score: 88
Value: 3/5
Region: Macon, Burgundy
Grape: Chardonnay
Alcohol: 13.5%
UPC: 3760113386060

Mezzomondo Pinot Grigio Chardonnay

I had a glass of this wine at Brewbaker's a couple of nights ago - it's not really enough for a real review, but I was sufficiently impressed that I couldn't resist. I'll call this a mini-review.

I picked it because it was one of the cheapest whites on the by-the-glass list - I figure nothing is good value at 100% mark-up, so you might as well go cheap. And the blend sounded intriguing. I wasn't expecting much - something innocuous and drinkable at best. But this delivered a lot more. The blend really seems to work. It had body and real interest, I think from the Chardonnay, but it was fresh and crisp at the same time, presumably from the Pinot Grigio (though Pinot Gris can make wines of real interest, as the Ribeauville Pinot Gris that I am drinking right now attests). Well, whichever grape is contributing whatever character, this is a really good wine at an unbeatable price. Great value in a casual white.

Price: $12.99
Value: 5/5
Score: 86
Alcohol: ?
Region: Italy
Tasted: Nov 2008
UPC: 8032610318918

Tormaresca Pietra Bianca 2006

I'm going to start with a review from Iron Chef, since I didn't drink any "bloggable" wines this weekend. I had my eye on this wine and almost bought a bottle last week, but I bought the Tunella Campo Marzio instead - see Wednesday's post. (PS Chef Do I have the year right?)

Here is Iron Chef's review:

"A wine made of 95% Chardonnay and 5% Fiano in southern Italy, Puglia. I think this blog has tried all the Tormaresca line from Antinori now at ANBL. This is a rich wine with tons of creamy malolactic fermentation and well integrated oak. The nose is fun with peaches and zesty citrus aromas and lots of buttery vanilla. The palate is very expressive and textured- notes of oak, butterscotch ice cream, dried apricots and smoke. I could see this wine breaking the "Red Meat with Red wine" rule because of its strong favours and texture. An absolute stunner of a wine. WoW. WS gave it 87 points btw.

One drawback was that the cork was very wet, seepage around the foil might affect this wine.

Value: 4/5- although I hate spending that much on a white. It was worth it.
Score: 93"

Price: $28.99
Score: 93
Value: 4/5
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 8026530000077

Aresti Reserve Chardonnay

Here's a review from Iron Chef:

"Speaking of whites, my wife had her book club over last evening and I opened an Aresti Reserve Chardonnay from the Liquidation table at ANBL for $9.49. I was really in the mood for a crisp oaky and zesty Chardonnay and this hit the mark. The finish was creamy- almost too malo-lactic- but held it all together. Very nice wine for the price all things considered- reminded me of the Marques Casa Concha Chard that ANBL had this summer for a very short engagement that was $23."

(Score and value ratings are Iron Chef's)

Price: $9.49
Value: 7/5
Score: 84.9
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 677855000044

Dan Aykroyd Discovery Series Chardonnay 2006 Revisited

After my initial unfavourable review of the Dan Aykroyd Discovery Series Chardonnay, they were kind enough to send me a bottle each of the '06 and the '07. I had wanted to hold off re-tasting it until I could serve it blind to some friends, but I've realized that day may not come until next summer, which is longer than I want to wait. So Kelly and I had a glass of the '06 tonight with dinner.

This bottle seemed better than the first bottle we tried. The unpleasant medicinal note in the first bottle came across as a herbal / juniper note this time, and was combined with a touch of citrus. I can't say I much liked it, but it wasn't as unpleasant as the first time around. We both identified the same sour finish (without having checked our original notes).

While this bottle seemed better than the first, I'm not sure it actually was. The main characteristics were recognizably the same, and it may be that the first bottle had suffered in comparison with the other wines we tasted it with. On the whole, as Kelly said, "The best we can do for this wine is to take if off the 'Blech!'" list. Perhaps the '07 will do better.

Revised score: 80

Domaine d'Ardhuy Puligny-Montrachet Le Trezin 2005

French wine has regions, of course, most famously Burgundy and Bordeaux, but they also have sub-regions, sub-sub-regions and even sometimes sub-sub-sub-regions. This is done on purpose to confuse and irritate North American consumers. Puligny-Montrachet is a sub-sub-region of Côte de Beaune, which is a sub-region of Burgundy. Le Trezin is the name the vineyard. While Burgundy as a whole is best known for its pinot noir based reds, the Côte de Beaune is famous for its whites, which are made from the Chardonnay grape.

I've historically been a red wine drinker, though I've started drinking whites, and I'm pretty new to Chardonnay. It had good balance and mouthfeel, and a variety of interesting flavours, which is all good, but I've wasn't entirely sure if I liked all the flavours. It has a bit of plasticine on the nose, and a kind of yeasty finish.

This wine was from last year's WineExpo and a friend brought it to a dinner party, so I don't know the price.

Price: $77.76 (original)
Score: 87
Value: 2/5
Alcohol: 13%
Tasted: August 2008
ANBL UPC: No longer listed

Oyster Bay Chardonnay 2006

I've never been much of a white wine drinker, though I've been trying more over the past summer. But when I do drink whites I tend to like riesling and gewurztraminer and lately I've discovered New Zealand sauvignon blanc. Not chardonnay. If you'd have asked me a couple of weeks ago I might even have said that I hate chardonnay, which has always struck me as buttery and insipid. With all that said, I was very surprised to find that I liked this wine. It was creamier in body than a sauvignon blanc, but without the butteriness that I remember from other chardonnay. Good fruit, if not quite as prominent on the nose as a sauvignon blanc, but very good length and an intriguing yeasty finish. Lightly oaked according to their web site. My eyes have been opened to chardonnay!

Price: $22.29
Value: 4/5
Score: 88
Alcohol: 13.5%
Tasted: August 2008
ANBL UPC: 9415549801604

Dan Aykroyd Discovery Series Chardonnay 2006

Dan Aykroyd is a funny guy and this is a funny wine. Well, maybe weird is a better word. The nose is unique; I tried it at a dinner party with a few friends and at the first sniff everyone's first reaction was "what the heck is that!?" Everyone's second reaction was "Blech." We finally decided that the closest description is apple cider that is just starting to go off, maybe with a touch of gasoline. But with some time and air the wine developed. Unfortunately, it didn't get any better. A strong medicinal note became apparent - Vicks VapoRub. More of the same on the palate, then it finishes with a sour note. There's plenty going on here: as one person said "This is way more interesting than tasting good wine." But he's a Scotch drinker. Maybe someone out there would like this wine, but not me.

BUT WAIT: Did I just get a bad bottle (see the comment from Andrew Stodart)? Could well be. I'll have to try another - and in the meantime I'd love to hear from anyone else who has tried this wine. Remember, I'm no expert - the point of this blog is to get the conversation going, not for me to tell you what's good or bad.

UPDATE: I've tried the second bottle, and I'm afraid all I can say "Tasted twice with consistent notes."

Price: $17.29
Score: 65
Value: 1/5
Alcohol: 12.5%
Tasted: August 2008
ANBL UPC: 625713025067