BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast Magazine

creamy notes to the underlying pineapple, green
apple, Meyer lemon and orange flavors. Vibrant
Carneros acidity makes for a clean finish. Easy to
find, with 13,000 cases produced. Editors’
Choice. —S.H.
90
Taz 2008 Chardonnay (Santa Barbara
County); $18. With this 2008,
Taz brings to the table a wonderful Chardonnay
at a great price. It’s dry and crisply acidic, with
bright, perky flavors of oranges, peaches, Meyer
lemons and smoky vanilla. Really nice and clean,
a lovely wine and a good restaurant by-the-glass
selection. Production was 9,000 cases. Editors’
Choice. —S.H.
89
Ben Hogan 2009 Chardonnay
(Paso Robles); $27. Comes down on
the dry, acidic, minerally side of the Chardonnay
street. Fans of opulence will find it lacking, but
it’s so clean and subtle in pineapple tart, tangerine
and buttered toast flavors, it recommends itself as
one of the more elegant and food-friendly Chards
out there. —S.H.
88
Foxen 2009 Bien Nacido Vineyard
Block UU Chardonnay (Santa
Maria Valley); $32. Oak sticks out in the form
of buttered toast and caramel, while the pineapple,
golden mango and honey flavors are very
strong. The wine also is marked by notable
acidity. Seems like all the parts need a little
time to meld into harmony. Give it until mid-
2011. —S.H.
88
Inocencio 2009 Chardonnay
(Santa Barbara County); $32.
Superrich in vanilla cream, buttered toast,
pineapple jam and tangerine sorbet flavors, with a
honeyed finish. Is it dry or sweet? Seems both at
the same time, accented with bright, Central
Coast acidity. Drink now. —S.H.
88
Riverbench 2008 Reserve
Chardonnay (Santa Maria Valley);
$32. This is a decadently rich Chardonnay,
although it depends for its appeal mainly on oak
and ripe fruit, rather than nuance. Explodes with
pineapple jam, golden mango, crème brûlée, buttered
toast, honey and cinnamon spice flavors.
Ready now. —S.H.
87
Firefly Night 2008 Split Rock Vineyard
Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast);
$40. A gigantically flavored wine, massive in
pineapple, guava and apricot flavors, liberally
accented with 65% new French oak. Although it’s
dry, it may even have a touch of botrytis, to judge
from the honeyed concentration. Defines a particular
style, but it doesn’t seem to have a future,
so drink up. —S.H.
87
Lake Sonoma 2009 Chardonnay
(Russian River Valley); $17. A nice
Chardonnay that shows ripe pineapple, green
apple and pear flavors, with added smoky richness
from oak, and the finish is dry and crisp. A
good price for a wine of this quality. —S.H.
87
Magness 2009 Chardonnay (Napa
Valley); $20. Even people who like lots
of buttered toast and smoky vanilla in their
Chards might find this one a little over the top.
It’s a good, rich wine, with lots of bright tropical
fruit, but it would score higher if it were just a little
less oaky. —S.H.
87
Perbacco Cellars 2008 Chardonnay
(Edna Valley); $28. Here’s a rich
Chardonnay notable for plenty of fruit, and also
for brisk acidity. It’s creamy smooth, with pineapple,
Meyer lemon and lime flavors that are almost
sweet in the finish, but pull back in favor of minerality.
—S.H.
86
Gainey 2008 Chardonnay (Sta.
Rita Hills); $22. A good wine, com-
prised of fruit from vineyards scattered across
Santa Barbara County. It’s bone dry and crisp in
acidity, and also pretty oaky. The underlying fruit
flavors are of apricots and pears, with perhaps a
touch of botrytis. Ready to drink now. —S.H.
86
Kunde 2008 Chardonnay (Sonoma
Valley); $17. Tasted in August, this
Chard was tart, almost fizzy in acidity, not
unpleasant in itself, but unusual. It gave a bubbly
note to the peach, pear and pineapple flavors.
Drink now. —S.H.
86
Riverbench 2008 Chardonnay
(Santa Maria Valley); $26. Depends
for its appeal largely on oak’s vanilla cream and
buttered toast flavors, in addition to ripe pineapples
and peaches. Made to appeal to the popular
style. Could show more nuance and sophistication.
—S.H.
85
A By Acacia 2008 Chardonnay
(Carneros); $11. Fruity, with scads of
pineapple, green apple, mango and vanilla cream
flavors, brightened with crisp acidity. It’s made in
the popular style, at a popular price. —S.H.
85
Acacia 2008 Winery Lake Vineyard
Chardonnay (Carneros); $25. Too
sweet and jammy to earn a higher score.
Although the acidity is nice and bright, the wine
tastes almost cloying in pie-filling pineapples,
apricots, mangoes and honey. Needs to be drier,
firmer, more nuanced. —S.H.
85
Jordan 2008 Chardonnay (Russian
River Valley); $29. Thin and acidic,
with just the barest suggestion of grapefruit juice.
Maybe some pineapples. Earns an extra point or
two for dryness and elegance, but really lacks
richness. —S.H.
85
Terlato 2008 Chardonnay (Russian
River Valley); $28. Lots of forward
fruit in this Chard that’s made in the popular
style. Brims with pineapple jam, pear, buttered
popcorn and caramel flavors, in a buttercream
texture. —S.H.
84
Bluenose 2009 Chardonnay
(Sonoma County); $17. Tastes thin
and metallic, with minerally lemon and lime citrus
flavors. Partial barrel fermentation adds some
creamy richness, but this is still a fairly lean
Chardonnay. —S.H.
84
Château Julien 2009 Chardonnay
(Monterey County); $12. This is a
good, simple, everyday Chardonnay. It has crisp
acidity and is dry, and the apricot, orange and
pineapple flavors are a little sweet. —S.H.
84
Fernwood 2008 Vanumanutagi
Vineyard Chardonnay (Santa Cruz
Mountains); $32. Ripe tropical fruit and oak
dominate this overly sweet Chardonnay. It’s very
rich in pineapple tart, golden mango, buttered
toast and crème brûlée flavors, but lacks dry balance.
Tastes like there’s a lot of white sugar in
there. —S.H.
84
Fleming Jenkins 2009 Chardonnay
(Santa Lucia Highlands); $30. Made
in the modern style of extreme ripeness, malolactic
fermentation and French oak. Shows
strong, almost overpowering flavors of tropical
fruits, buttered popcorn and vanilla cream that
are almost as sweet as a dessert wine. Needs far
greater control for this price. —S.H.
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