June Wine Night - Chardonnay

Host

Evan & Jess

Date

June 25th, 2010

Bottles

2004 Beaulieu - Inna & Max
2007 Cambria - Nicole
2007 Les Compagnons - Selina
2007 Francis Coppola - Tom & Kristal
2007 Brooklyn Oenology - Tara & Sean
2007 Vina Casa del Tamaya - Evan & Jess
2008 Bogel - Alissa
2008 Fetzer Valley Oaks - Brett & Katie
2008 Kendall-Jackson- Alissa
2008 Don Quixote - Timmy

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is believed to have originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new and developing wine regions, growing Chardonnay is seen as a "rite of passage" and an easy segue into the international wine market.

The Chardonnay grape itself is very neutral, with many of the flavors commonly associated with the grape being derived from such influences as terroir and oak. It is vinified in many different styles, from the elegant, "flinty" wines of Chablis to rich, buttery Meursaults and New World wines with tropical fruit flavors.

Chardonnay is an important component of many sparkling wines around the world, including Champagne. A peak in popularity in the late 1980s gave way to a backlash among those wine drinkers who saw the grape as a leading negative component of the globalization of wine. Nonetheless, it remains one of the most widely-planted grape varieties, with over 400,000 acres (175,000 hectares) worldwide, second only to Airén among white wine grapes and planted in more wine regions than any other grape – including Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Results

WINNER: 2007 Cambria - 104.5 out of 140
Producer: Cambria Winery
Vineyard: Cambria Katherine's Winery
Country/State/Region: Santa Maria Valley, California
Price: $15.99
Aroma: Oak, Citrus
Appearance: Gold
Body: Medium
Nose: Butter, Caramel, Butterscotch, Pineapple
Taste: Caramel, Pineapple, Pear, Vanilla
Finish: Long
Individual Points: 10, 8, 8, 7, 7, 6, 6, 6.5, 5, 6, 8.5, 7, 9.5, 10

2008 Bogel Vineyards - 99 points out of 140

Producer:Bogel Vineyards

Vineyard: Bogel Vineyards

Country/State/Region: Clarksburg, California

Price: $10.99

Aroma: Citrus, Oak

Appearance: Gold

Body: Light

Nose: Butter, Butterscotch, Pineapple

Taste: Pineapple, Butter

Finish: Short

Individual Points: 6.5, 6, 6, 4, 6, 8, 8, 8, 6, 6, 8, 9, 8, 9.5

2008 Fetzer Valley Oaks - 92 points out of 140

Producer: Fetzer Vineyards
Vineyard: Fetzer Vineyards

Country/State/Region: Hopland, California

Price: $10.99

Aroma: Citrus

Appearance: Gold

Body: Light

Nose: Pear, Lemon, Lime, Butter, Apple

Taste: Lemon, Grapefruit, Apple

Finish: Short

Individual Points: 3, 4, 8, 7, 8.5, 9, 7, 6, 7, 6, 5, 6, 10, 5.5

2008 Kendall - Jackson - 92 points out of 140
Producer: Kendall Jackson
Vineyard: Kendall Jackson Vineyards & Winery
Country/State/Region: Santa Rosa, California
Price: $15.99
Aroma: Citrus, Oak
Appearance: Gold
Body: Medium
Nose: Pear, Butter, Oak
Taste: Melon, Honeydew, Pear, Butter, Pineapple, Mango, Papaya, Sour Apple
Finish: Long
Individual Points: 6, 7, 6, 6, 5, 6, 6.5, 7, 6, 8, 7, 6, 8.5, 7

2008 La Senda de Don Quixote - 85.5 points out of 140
Producer: Cruzares, S.A.
Vineyard: La Tierra de Castilla
Country/State/Region: Ciudad Real, Spain
Price: $5.99
Aroma: Citrus, Floral
Appearance: Lemon
Body: Light
Nose: Pineapple, Butterscotch, Floral, Butter
Taste: Sour Apple, Flowers
Finish: Long
Individual Points: 6.5, 2, 4, 5, 9, 9, 5, 7, 7, 6, 6, 7, 8, 4




2007 Les Compagnons - 80 points out of 140
Producer: Les Compagnons
Vineyard: Les Compagnons
Country/State/Region: King City, California
Price: $14.99
Aroma: Citrus, Oak
Appearance: Lemon
Body: Light
Nose: Pear, Lemon, Lime, Green Apple
Taste: Pear, Pineapple, Lemon, Lime
Finish: Short
Individual Points: 5, 7, 5, 2, 6, 7.5, 5, 8, 8, 5, 5, 6, 5, 5.5


2007 Francis Coppola - 80 points out of 140
Producer: Francis Coppola Diamond Collection
Vineyard: Francis Coppola Winery
Country/State/Region: Monterey County, California
Price: $15.99
Aroma: Citrus, Oak
Appearance: Lemon
Body: Light
Nose: Lemon, Lime
Taste: Lemon, Lime, Sour Apple, Creme Brulee, Pear, Windex
Finish: Short
Individual Points: 4, 4, 3, 3, 7, 6, 4, 7, 7, 7, 8, 4, 9, 7

2007 Brooklyn Oenology - 79 points out of 140
Producer: Brooklyn Oenology
Vineyard: Brooklyn Oenology
Country/State/Region: Long Island, New York
Price: $18.99
Aroma: Citrus
Appearance: Gold
Body: Medium
Nose: Honey, Grapefruit, Mandarin, Pineapple, Peach, Quince, Tapioca
Taste: Sour Apple, Apricot, Mineral, Walnut
Finish: Long
Individual Points: 6, 2, 3, 5, 7, 5, 7.5, 5, 3, 5, 7, 9.5, 8, 6




2007 Vina Casa del Tamaya - 63.5 points out of 140
Producer: Vina Casa del Tamaya
Vineyard: Vina Casa del Tamaya
Country/State/Region: Lamari Valley, Chile
Price: $14.99
Aroma: Citrus, Floral
Appearance: Lemon
Body: Light
Nose: Flowers, Butter, Honey, Lemon, Pineapple, Vanilla
Taste: Raspberry, Lemon, Butter, Caramel, Fig, Honey
Finish: Short
Individual Points: 4, 6, 7, 5, 6, 5.5, 5, 4, 5, 2, 2, 4, 6, 2



2004 Beaulieu Vineyard - 5.5 points out of 140
Producer: Beaulieu Vineyard
Vineyard: Beaulieu Vineyard
Country/State/Region: Napa Valley, California
Price: $13.99
Taste: This wine had turned. So it tasted awful, basically.
Individual Points: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2, .5, 0, 0. 2, 0, 0

Comments

This time around, Evan and Jess decided to pair the wine with a popcorn bar. Which was totally yum. Evan had also cut up some apples and pears and had a butterscotch dip for the fruit. TO DIE FOR. I'm going to start dipping everything in butterscotch. Including myself.

You'll notice that one of the wines tasted like Windex. It seriously did. I basically had to hold Evan at gunpoint to get him to write that down. Windex, he said, isn't a boursgie adjective. This night of wines scored even worse than Cabernet Francs (ha!) ended with poor Inna & Max's wine which had probably turned back in 2004 when it was made. It was seriously the worst, but the awesome picture of Donato and I above was the amazing result.