Variety the Spice of Life; Chardonnay

Chardonnay can range from medium to full body with expressive aromas, fruit forward flavors and complexity.  And, most importantly they have a SUPPLE mouthfeel that drives Chardonnay drinkers wild!  This grape is grown everywhere and the styles can be diverse with some being ordinary in their expression and others tasting absolutely sublime!!!

Flavors Commonly Experienced :

• Apple  
• Pineapple
• Pear  
• Lemon / Lime
• Vanilla  
• Oak / Butter

Chardonnay is the offspring of the noble grape Pinot Noir and a rather ignoble grape called Gouais Blanc.  The wines from Gouais Blanc were so bad the French government in acted laws requiring the vines to be pulled out of existing vineyards and forbidding them from ever being replanted.  Learning this genetic origins of Chardonnay helped me to understand the wines from this grape better.  This combined with the grape's ability to reflect the soil composition and vinification techniques used to make it; result in a quite beguiling and fascinating wine.

Some Recommended Chardonnay...

• CHARDONNAY,FREI BROTHERS, "RESERVE" SUSTAINABLY GROWN, RussianRiver Valley, California, 2011
• Chardonnay, FERRARI-CARANO, Sonoma County, California, 2011 

And please reply to this blog; 
what is your  favorite Chardonnay?

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