A Couple of Chards
This time last year I wrote about 2 Chardonnay’s battling it
out. Tasting those wines side by side proved to be an interesting experience. Recently,
I had another chance to taste 2 more Chardonnays side by side, this time it was
a blind tasting so only their “fruits” of their labor could influence me.
“Brand X” Chardonnay
(Napa Valley) 2011: You’re immediately hit on the nose with smoky oak, and
butter. If you concentrated enough you could almost get vanilla, and a hint of
rich cream. Medium to full body, with concentration, this extends itself with
flavors of citrusy honey, vanilla, and minerality. Sounds good eh? Nope. It was
not balanced well – It was hard to get past the smoky oak and butter in the
aroma and flavor. The finish was long but I wanted it to go away – Basically a
buttered-popcorn campfire in your mouth. I guess you could skip the butter and
pour this over your lobster…
Robert Mondavi
Chardonnay (Napa Valley) 2011: Unbelievably vibrant aromas of sweet citrusy
juice, honey crisp apple, and honeydew melon. A Lighter body wine with elegant
flavors of pear, crisp minerals, and lemon-lime. The finish is long that made
you yearning for another sip. It was delicious! You can easily drink this with
or without food (paired with tilapia, grilled shrimp, or roasted chicken).
I don’t normally give any wines bad press, I only write
about what I like. In all seriousness I sincerely respect wine makers and what
they do and that’s why I decided to leave the vineyard name out of the first
Chardonnay and name it “Brand X”. Here is the catch; “Brand X” is a $40 bottle
while Robert Mondavi’s is $19 proving the fact that cost does not guarantee you
what you’d like. Listen to your taste buds, they know!
Sláinte! TCW
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