Category Archives: White Wines

GIRARD CHARDONNAY 2010, Russian River Valley, California

09 Sunday Sep 2012

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Girard Chardonnay 2010, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County Bottle

Cost: $24.95
Grape Variety: Chardonnay
Category: White Wine
Location Bought: LCBO VINTAGES
Country: USA
Region: Russian Valley River
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Vintage Wine Estates
Alcohol: 13.9% Alcohol/Vol.
Description: Light gold in colour with a medium+ intensity on the nose.

Positives: A nice easy drinking Chard that has a nice balance between the oak, fruit & minerarilty. This Chard has nice creamy butteriness, lightly to medium toasted oak, lemon, juicy apples, pineapple, honeydew melon, limestone, peach, tangerines & some coconut. Medium+ body with good acidity & a fairly long length.

Negatives: A little sour on the finish.

Interesting Points: I like the minimalist label.  Use the larger Chard glass.

Drink now or cellar it over the next 3 years. Drink on its own or pair it with lobster & drawn butter.

Tasted: 8 Sept 12

Score: 9/10, Value: 8.5+/10, Total: 18/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 4

LCBO#: 276675

BONTERRA VIOGNIER 2010, Mendocino, California

08 Saturday Sep 2012

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Bonterra Viognier 2010, Mendocino County Bottle

Cost: $19.95
Grape Variety: Viognier
Category: White Wine
Location Bought: LCBO VINTAGES
Country: United States
Region: Mendocino
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Fetzer Vineyards
Alcohol: 13.7 %
Description: Light gold in colour with a medium to medium+ nose.

Positives: Here’s another winner from Bonterra & a very pleasant surprise for producing a quality Viognier for under $20. Featuring peaches, apricots, mangoes, clementines, lemongrass & lemon custard. Medium light to medium body with good acidity & medium length.

Negatives: None.

Interesting Point: This Viognier is more citric & less oily & complex than Condrieu (the benchmark for Viogniers), but still very good for its price. Bonterra produces organic wines.

Drink now & pair it with lemon pepper grilled catfish.

Tasted: 4 Sept 12

Best Buy

Score: 9/10, Value: 9+/10, Total: 18+/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 4

LCBO#: 128900

ARTESA CHARDONNAY 2010, Carneros, California

02 Sunday Sep 2012

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Artesa Chardonnay 2010, Carneros Bottle

Cost: $23.95
Grape Variety: Chardonnay with a small blend of Sauvignon Blanc, albariño & pinot blanc
Category: White Wine
Location Bought: LCBO VINTAGES
Country: United States
Region: Carneros
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Artesa Winery
Alcohol: 14.3% Alcohol/Vol.
Description: Bright gold in colour with a medium to medium+ intensity on the nose.

Positives: This is not a big blockbuster California Chard, but there’s a lot to it, rich, creamy & one of the longest tasting in length for a Chardonnay I’ve tasted. Lightly toasted oak featuring lemon, green apples, mangos, pineapple, peach, marshmallow, custard, limestone, orange, crème brûlée & a slight peppery note. Medium to full body, good acidity & a very long length.

Negatives: None.

Interesting Point: One of the best Chards that I tasted that should appease those that like big Chards & those that like Chablis style.

Drink now or over the next 5 years. Can be drank on its own, but this was one of the best Chards I’ve tasted for pairing with crustaceans and drawn butter.

Tasted: 31 Aug 12

Best Buy & Top Pick

Score: 9.5/10, Value: 10/10, Total: 19.5/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 5

LCBO#: 657585

FEUDI DI SAN GREGORIO FALANGHINA 2010, DOC Campania, Italy

25 Saturday Aug 2012

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Cost: $24.99 (Cayman)
Grape Variety: Falanghina
Category: White Wine
Location Bought: Cayman Islands (Jacque Scott)
Country: Italy
Region: Campania
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Feudi Di San Gregorio
Alcohol: 13% Alcohol/Vol.
Description: Bright light gold in colour with a medium to medium+ intense nose.
Positives: Feudi Di San Gregorio makes my favourite Falanghina. A nicely crisp wine featuring notes of peach, lemon/lime, tangerines, a touch of mango, pink grapefruit and limestone. Medium minus body with good acidity and a fairly long length.

Negatives: None

Interesting Things: Feudi Di San Gregorio is one of my favourite Italian wineries. Their labels feature mosaics that are very beautiful. Lastly, the Falanghina grape is one of Italy’s oldest grape brought from Greece and used by the Romans.

Drink now or over the next 2 years on its own or pair it with roasted hen.

Tasted: 24 Aug 12

Best Buy

Score: 9/10, Value: 9/10, Total: 18/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine 4

BERINGER NAPA VALLEY VINEYARDS CHARDONNAY 2008, Napa Valley, California

23 Thursday Aug 2012

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Beringer Chardonnay 2008, Napa Valley Bottle

Cost: $21.99 (Cayman Islands)
Grape Variety: Chardonnay
Category: White Wine
Location Bought: Cayman Islands (Jacques Scott)
Country: United States
Region: Napa Valley
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Beringer
Alcohol: 14.1% Alcohol/Vol.
Description: Gold in the colour with a medium+ intensity.

Positives: Toasted oak, buttery, lemon zest, tangerines, light smokiness, roasted marshmallows, peach, cashews and limestone. Full body, good acidy and a long length.

Negatives: None

Interesting Things: LCBO Vintage did carry this Chard.

Drink now on its own or pair it with lobster and drawn butter.

Tasted: 20 Aug 12

Best Buy

Score: 9+/10, Value: 9+/10, Total: 18.5/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine 4.5

ACADIA “A” CHARDONNAY, 2008 California

12 Sunday Aug 2012

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Cost: $18.99 (Cayman)
Grape Variety: Chardonnay
Category: White Wine
Location Bought: Cayman Islands (Jacque Scott)
Country: United States
Region: California
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Acacia
Alcohol: 13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Description: Gold in colour with a medium intense nose.

Positives: This is not your big commercially produced plain Jane Chardonnay from California. In fact, it’s quite restrained, simple but eloquent showing light toasted oak, butter, spice, lemon, apple & nutmeg, peach. Medium+ body, good acidity and a good length.

Negatives: A little heat which makes me think this may be higher than the stated 13.5% on the bottle.

Drink now on its own or pair it with chicken Parmesan.

Tasted: 11 Aug 12

Score: 8.5+/10, Value: 9/10, Total: 18/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine 4

RODNEY STRONG CHALK HILL CHARDONNAY 2010, Sonoma County, California

05 Sunday Aug 2012

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Rodney Strong Chalk Hill Chardonnay 2010, Sonoma County Bottle

Cost: $24.95
Grape Variety: Chardonnay
Category: White Wine
Location Bought: LCBO Vintages
Country: United States
Region: Chalk Hill, Sonoma County
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Rodney Strong
Alcohol: 13.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Description: Medium straw to light gold in colour with a medium+ intense nose.

Positives: Lots of flavour and good balance between tropical and citric fruit featuring medium+ toasted oak, lots of butter, lemon, butterscotch, mango, pineapple, cinnamon apple, marzipan and limestone. Medium+ body, good acidity and a fairly long length.

Negatives: A little sourness on the finish.

Interesting Things: Always nice to see a California Chard under 14% alcohol and not lose the creaminess. A day later the taste was equally good with less sourness on the finish.

Drink now on its own or pair it with grilled pork tenderloin with a peach & mango glaze.

Tasted: 3 Aug 12

Best Buy

Score: 9+/10, Value: 9+/10, Total: 18.5/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine 4.5

LCBO #: 275552

PAUL HOBBS RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY CHARDONNAY 2007, Russian River Valley, California

28 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in Non LCBO Wine, Top Picks, Price Not Withstanding, White Wines

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Cost: $51.99 (KYD)
Grape Variety: Chardonnay
Category:  White Wines
Appellation:  Cayman Islands
Country:  California
Region:  Russian River Valley
Format: 750 ml
Producer: Paul Hobbs
Alcohol: 14.7%

Description: Deep gold in colour with medium+ intensity on the nose.

Positives: I love this wine which features medium toasted oak, buttery, cream corn, marshmallows, lemon meringue pie, white flowers, peach, pear, lemon and limestone. Full body with good acidity, long length and the alcohol is well integrated considering it’s 14.7%.

Negatives: The high alcohol

Interesting Things: Paul Hobbs consistently produces good quality Chards at different price points. Please note this is 2007 vintage and not available at LCBO. However, the 2008 is available at LCBO Vintages.

Drink now on its own or pair it with snow crabs and drawn butter.

Tasted: 25 July 12

Score:  9.5/10, Value: 9 /10, Total:   18.5/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine 4.5

CLOSSON CHASE VINEYARD CHARDONNAY 2008, VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario

11 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Canadian Wines, Non LCBO Wine, White Wines

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https://i0.wp.com/www.clossonchase.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2009CCV-Chard-VQAPEC.jpg

Cost:  $29.95
Grape Variety: Chardonnay
Category:  White Wine
Appellation: Winery
Country:  Canada
Region:  Prince Edward County
Format: 750 ml
Producer:   Closson Chase Vineyard
Alcohol: 12.6

Description: Deep gold in colour with medium+ intensity on the nose.

Positives: Rich & creamy featuring medium+ toasted oak, butter, yellow plums, lemon, nutmeg, creme brulee, & limestone. Full body with good acidity and long length.

Negatives: A touch bitter from the toasted oak.

Interesting Things: I believe the 2008 & 2009 are sold out at the winery. 

Drink now or over the next 3 years on its own or pair it with snow crab legs and drawn butter.

Tasted: 10 July 12

Score: 9 /10, Value: 9+ /10, Total: 18+/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 4+

TERRAZAS DE LOS ANDES RESERVA TORRONTÉS 2010, Salta, Argentina

07 Saturday Jul 2012

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Terrazas De Los Andes Reserva Torrontés 2010, Salta Bottle

Cost: $14.95
Grape Variety: Torrontes
Category: White Wine
Appellation: VINTAGES
Country: Argentina
Region: Salta
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Bodegas Chandon S.A.
Alcohol: 14.0 %
Description: Medium straw colour with a medium intense nose.

Positives: Lemon, fennel, white peach, fresh carnations on the nose, white pepper & a slight bitter grapefruit tang on the finish.Medium minus body with good acidity & a long length.

Negatives: A little too bitter on the finish.

Drink now on its own or pair it with lake trout.

Tasted: 6 July 12

Score: 8.5+/10, Value: 8.5+/10, Total: 17.5/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 3.5

LCBO#: 243238