UPDATE – I made an error concerning the vintage of this Chardonnay. It’s actually the 2007 since Cantara did not actually make an ’08. Thanks to Mike Brown (winemaker) over at Cantara for the correction.

I’m going to start a category called “Little Known” for wineries that are very small, below the radar, off the beaten path, or have little to no budget for advertising and so rely pretty much solely on word-of-mouth and (if they’re lucky) a “Wine Trail” pamphlet for their region in order to sell product.

In case you haven’t noticed, I tend to like these wineries. While they tend to have fewer bottles offered under $20, they often have impeccably-crafted wines offered at ridiculously low prices. The adverbs in that last sentence will really piss off my writer friends, so I hope you enjoyed it due to the tongue-lashing I’m about to take.

Also in case you haven’t noticed, Cantara Cellars is one of the kinds of wineries I’m speaking of. Cantara gets all of its fruit from Lodi, a region near the bloated Napa and Sonoma regions of California that forces my tax bracket to budget a yearly trip to get up there and visit them. However, the tasting room (and their home base) is located on what is known as the Ventura County Wine Trail. Hooray for a wine trail less than 2 hours from my house! (*cricket chirps*) Moving on.

Cantara got it’s start by getting away with what I’ve been arrested for: Making wine in your home’s garage. I guess they threw fewer “Chug from the Barrel!” parties. They even named it after the neighborhood they used to concoct this hooch in. My wife and I found them while staying at the awesome Glen Tavern Inn in Santa Paula, CA. We were desperate to taste some vinos and plugged “winery” into our GPS and , low and behold, a winery tasting room popped up in the midst of a non-descript office park. Seriously, you drive toward the area they are located in and you begin wondering whether you are actually visiting a tasting room or going to complain at a Time Warner Cable satellite office. It was there that we found the Ventura County Wine Trail brochure and learned that it crawls all the way up to Ojai, where we found more small wineries and tasting rooms (more on that later). Since then we were able to taste their delicious wines a second time at the Malibu/Calabasas Food & Wine Festival.

In conclusion, these people are the salt of the modern-day-wine-making-earth. And their wine kicks ass.

So let’s get into the Cantara Cellars Chardonnay:

Color

Golden, solid, textbook. Makes you confident that you are in fact drinking Chardonnay (I hate this section of the reviews).

Nose

Wait a minute, is this…is this really what I’m smelling? A wine that actually smells like lemon meringue pie? Cream, lemon, acid, full. Delicious nose.

Taste

The flavors match the nose in a step-by-step fashion. Bright lemon, some green apple, some white fig for a good mix of acid and fullness. Rich mouthfeel. Velvety but not buttery, just like a light pie crust. Great mid-palate of what seems to be cinnamon and a bread-like finish. Nice sourdough at the end. Weird but intriguing and great.

With Food

A very food-friendly wine. Thanks to the acid it won’t overpower already-buttery dishes. Chicken or Salmon Picatta, shellfish, savory crepes and the like. Not for an appetizer. This is Main wine.

Where to Buy

$21 at CantaraCellars.com. Yes, that’s the winery website, and yes I realize that it’s over $20. But it’s a buck. Dig through your sofa cushions.

Winery/Tasting Room Info

126 N. Wood Road #104

Camarillo, CA 93010

(805) 484-9600

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No related posts.

This is, however, the first review of a Hope Family Wine since their awesome production coordinator sent me a sample of their wines for review. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “They sent you their wines for free, so you’re just going to do great reviews of them all in the hopes of getting something new in the future.”

Wrong. Well…right. But WRONG. Oh, so wrong.

I’ve always prided myself on my honesty, particularly when it comes to this site. I make no money off of it (despite the ads) and I do it as a labor of love. If I think a wine quite frankly sucks some form of animal genitalia, I’m going to tell you. Keeping that image in mind, let’s get into the Liberty School 2007 Chardonnay.

Color

Beautiful gold . Watered down Red Bull, though I know that doesn’t sound exactly appetizing. The “shinyness” of this wine is striking.

Nose

Thick and vanilla. Delicious pineapple and hearty caramel breaking through. Not a soft nose by any means. This does not smell like it’s going to be on the acidic Chardonnay side. 75% of the fruit was barrel-fermented in 10% new American and French oak while the other 25% was in stainless steel. Smelling that way.

Taste

Rich, saucy and bright, but not too much butter. The tropical flavors really hit home here with pineapple, vanilla-lime (yeah, I know, but lime is what I tasted) and some really awesome apple and pear Jelly Bellys. The wine is not confused as the structure is solid. Fruit in the front, not much acid, all leading toward the rich mid-palate and finally finishing with some of those caramel notes and the alcohol coming through. Very very full mouthfeel, like you’re drinking a Boston cream pie. Fantastic.

With Food

Go on the light side as the wine is too heavy for heavy white foods. Avoid your cream sauces and overly buttered shellfish. Simply grilled crab, shrimp or white fish, pastas in olive oil, mild cheeses and fresh tart fruits. Try pears, specifically.

Where to Buy

Obviously at the winery, but other than that, $8.99 at StirlingFineWines.com.

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But seriously: Buy Microsoft products.*

Color

Pale straw as opposed to rich golden. You know what? I’ve been using the same damn 5 terms to describe the colors of Chardonnay for the past year. Let’s change it up with help from Thesaurus.com:

The color of this Chardonnay is more of an anemic silage rather than fatty aurelian. Thank YOU, Thesaurus.com.

Nose

Hmmm. Lot of rock in this one, but I can’t pick out what kind. If anyone here is an expert on how different rocks smell, please let me know. Anyhoo, some good lemon and a bit of cream Methinks this might not have had too much oak, which is good.

Taste

Delicious is the first thing that comes to mind. The wine is velvety but with a stark crispness (again, evidence of little or no oak). The same flavors from the nose: lemon and cream. The wine mingles and never really processes onto something else. A bit of a one-trick pony, but still tasty nonetheless. The finish stacks up with some $10 Chards so this is a good deal based on that alone.

With Food

Have to go with fish here. Not sure if this could contend with buttery shellfish or creamy sauces (despite the cream flavors), but give it try if you’re the adventurous type (it’s a big risk pairing wine with food, you know). Hard cheeses might stack up as well, but don’t go too stinky. A good pool wine until the heat dissipates.

Where to Buy

$5.99 on Club Bev at BevMo!, $7.99 if you’re not on Club Bev (It’s a free card, people. Pull it together).

TwistedWine.com

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I’ll just stop talking now.

Color

It’s $7 Beringer Chardonnay. It’s gold in color. What else do you want? Maybe I should eliminate this section since looking at the color of under-$10 wines is kind of ridiculous.

Nose

GREAT NOSE. Wow, this was completely unexpected. Full scent with some great peach and lemon notes. You can even smell the wood, though I’m not sure if they aged this in oak at all.

Taste

A solid, solid wine. Acid that isn’t over the top, good fruit, and a textbook structure. The alcohol level is perfect for the flavors or creamy almond and buttery stone fruit. The lemon isn’t there, but it’s been replaced with this weird caramelly flavor that reminds you of the wine’s price. There is no finish other than a little residual heat. Still, completely solid for a hot summer day.

With Food

This is uncomfortable, but I can’t really find anything to pair it with. I ate fish with it, and it just didn’t work. My mouth ended up tasting the way a dock smells. Maybe some of you like that. I’ll be honest and just say that this wine should be popped towards the end of the party when you just need to have another glass.

Where to Buy

7-Eleven (ahem) like I said, but it’as also $7.48 at VineRepublic.com.

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We previously reviewed the Puerto Viejo Sauvignon Blanc, and their Chardonnay offering is just as awesome. Let’s rock:

Color

Beautiful, perfect gold. Just the right hue you are looking for to make your mouth water for that rich, juicy, somewhat-dry Chardonnay flavor.

Nose

Stiff lemon and green apple. You can actually smell the acid on this wine. For those of you who follow the site, you’ll remember that I love white wines with good acid, no matter what the varietal. I’ll have a review soon of a white varietal that had a strong acid nose, but ended up being absolutely acid-free, which is like smelling bacon as you wake up in the morning, but once you’re downstairs you find out it’s turkey bacon. Fail.

Taste

Great acid kick from the start. Now because I’m mentioning that first does not mean that the wine is too acidic. Far from it. The wine is structured. “Built like a brick shithouse” as my wife would say. You’ve got a textbook construction of flavors here, but each one is solid, rounded and pronounced just enough. Nothing wrong with following convention if you are confident that what you produce is good enough to make people think only in the moment, and not what came before. This wine is a classic. Great stone, apricot, some juicy green apple and even some white raspberry. There is something deliciously sour in the finish that you worry about for a moment, but then it’s gone, leaving you with an almond-satisfaction that puts a smile on your face.

With Food

As usual, shellfish, chicken, creamy pastas and CHEESE. Definitely a cheese wine. I should have said that first but I’m too lazy to go back and change it. Brie, camembert, even goat. Go crazy.

Where to Buy

$9.98 at FineWineHouse.com!

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Color

Very pale for a Chardonnay. A little…too pale. Almost looks like a Pinot Gris with these grey tints I’m seeing.

Nose

Asparagus. Raw, cut asparagus. Some citrus and a shot of almond.

Taste

Great acidity. That’s what hits first. The wine is firm but not overpowering. Expected more oak from a Sonoma Chard, but not bad. A nice 1-2-3 structure: Acid on the attack, good fruity fig, then almond, then the vegetables, crisp finish. Some oaky vanilla on the tail. A solid wine.

With Food

Honestly, vegetables. This is a veggie wine. Put some type of protein in your dish if you must, but go low on salt. Stick with vegetables as the centerpiece and you won’t regret it. If you remember our Pebble Beach Grand Tasting menu, thinly-sliced raw asparagus with olive oil, lemon and parmesan was one of the best things we ate. Asparagus Carpaccio, they called it.

Where to Buy

Gets difficult here because I found this at a local Ralph’s supermarket for $11.99. Outside of California I believe there is Kroger and Food 4 Less. I have yet to see it anywhere else, so I’d stick with those stores if you can. If someone is able to find it online anywhere, please let me know in the comments below!

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Like a very ripe apricot, the Gnarly Head Chardonnay kicks some serious ass. The juicy, full mouthfeel is very satisfying, with a great finish that leaves you a bit heated, but still wanting more. Fantastic with some ceviche or lime-grilled chicken.

$12.99 for 2 at the BevMo 5 Cent Wine Sale!

$7.99 at PJWine.com after that.

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Solid. A pleasant, mellow gold.

Nose

Strong rock. Some Emmentaler cheese. Cut raw potato (that’s new!). Oak.

Taste

Hello fire in the mouth cradled in swaddling oak. This stuff is supercharged oak. Puuuuuure Cali. I’m getting some wet rocks and some intersting almond and marzipan flavors, but it’s all out-gunned by our woody friend. Full, FULL mouthfeel. Almost too filling. Chardonnay cake comes to mind. Not a Summer-Sipping white. Intense finish that leaves you begging for a glass of water.

With Food

Buttery white foods only. Alfredo sauces and shellfish. This thing could melt cheese. Woof.

Where to Buy

$10.21 at UltraLuxeWine.com!

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COLOR: Pale and not much to it. Very surprising for the flavors you’re about to read about.

NOSE: Flower, flowers flowers. It’s rare that we find a floral nose here on Wine Welfare, nevermind a cheap wine. Most value wines don’t exude floral scents or flavors. Now, if you want me to dig into the actual type of flower, you’re barking up the wrong tree.

TASTE: Very, very full mouthfeel that coats your tongue like nobody’s business. It’s like wine-Pepto-Bismol. You know how that crap coats your stomach or whatever? That’s what this wine does. The fruit is getting pushed aside by the mouthfeel. The mouthfeel is the ass**** on the subway who just shoves you to the side so he can grab the handle. If the fruit were to fight back, you’d taste some delicious canteloupe, pear, almond cream and (I think) a little nectarine. Acid is there as well, but again, it’s being slapped by the thickness. Not the most balanced Chardonnay I’ve had, but it’s still pretty buttery for this price.

WHERE TO BUY: $9.99 at MadWine.com!

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COLOR: If apple pie were a color, this would be it. Or roasted apples. Ever roasted apples with butter and looked at that deep golden brown? This looks like that. Some would call it apple cider color (smacks head).

NOSE: Wow. This wine has one of the best scents I’ve ever smelled in a white wine. Rich apple cider (again, I know) and buttered almonds.

TASTE: Great mouthfeel that is not too heavy. Apples again, some tart pear, and the slight alcohol heat gives you the sense of cinnamon. There is also an underlying mineral compenent here that is very pleasant. It makes me think that, despite the buttery apple, this may have been fermented in stainless steel. That minerality is the bedrock here and rounds out a perfectly structured Chardonnay.

WITH FOOD: Would go great with red snapper or steamed salmon with Herbs d’ Provence. You could also try it with a nice cream sauce over pasta, perhaps with some shellfish thrown in. Actually, I’m going to ask some of you out there to try that if you decide to buy this. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

WHERE TO BUY: $11.99 at Magnolia Wine & Spirits!

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COLOR: Good but not solid. A little on the pale side for a Chardonnay, but it still counts as golden.

NOSE: Good lemon, no trace of vanilla which means they either went light on the oak or fermented in stainless. Some pecan actually came through along with some cut concrete. Weird.

TASTE: Ok, my mistake: no almonds. This thing tasted like green apple and lemon all the way through. No oak whatsoever. The wine kind of makes an appearance and then vanishes before the applause. Great crisp mouthfeel, but not much else. Still, it’s a Chardonnay for under $15 and it doesn’t suck.

WITH FOOD: Another great seafood wine. Lemon chicken would work, too. Basically, treat this as you would a Sauvignon Blanc or that Vinho Verde we just reviewed.

$12.99 at your local BevMo!

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So last week we left off at Ortman Vineyards in downtown Paso Robles, and for the conclusion of our little 2-day sojourn to Paso Robles, we’re going to get past the blur that was Saturday night (after Ortman) and jump straight into our Sunday tastings. However, I would be remiss not to mention where we ate dinner on that Saturday night, a fantastic place called Villa Creek, right in the heart of downtown.  Since this is a wine review site for the poor, I won’t go into too much detail concerning the meal. I will only mention three things:

1. My wife had the rabbit, which was outstanding.

2. I had the brisket-stuffed poblano chile, which was for some reason even better than the rabbit.

3. I spilled an entire glass of wine on myself (If you remember where we left off last time, we were at Ortman and I’d lost my sense of taste. Add a visit to a nearby pub to that just before dinner, and it was really partytime).*

Cut to the next morning. A brilliant start at Margie’s Diner (also near downtown) with the biggest plate of breakfast I’ve ever seen, and it surely did the trick. This place was serious. There had to be like an entire bag of potatoes on that plate. Anyway, onto the wines!

Pomar Junction Winery

This was a great place. A former railroad junction (go figure) the place boasts a great old tasting room, and out back you can climb into an authentic caboose car and admire the view of what was once a fairly busy California crossroads of sorts. Besides Pomar’s awesome website, they had some pretty good stuff for a new winery. Their under-$20 standouts are as follows:

Pomar Junction Syrah Rose

COLOR: A nice strawberry juice. Dare I say that it looks like a hearty white zinfandel?

NOSE: Strong strawberry, metal, cheese rind. All good signs of a great rose. A good nose for a cool summer wine.

TASTE: Here come the strawberries again along with the the cheese rind. The metal dissipates among a strong mid-palate of hard candy and a hint of marsala. Absolutely delicious and unfortunate that this has to come in the form of a rose when such a wine is difficult to market to the general public with their current perceptions of rose.

WITH FOOD: Like I said, a good cool summer wine with barbecued chicken and a strawberry salad.

WHERE TO BUY: $12.00 from the winery itself.

Pomar Junction “Picnic” Chardonnay – Canvas Series

COLOR: Pale. Almost too pale. Usually I look for at least some semblance of straw color, but this looked like a Sauvignon Blanc.

NOSE: Green apple, caramel corn and a nice shot of minerality.

TASTE: Good mouthfeel. Rich for a Chardonnay at this price. Good acid, strong finish, a little empty on the mid-palate, but the green apple is there for the most part throughout the whole movie.

WITH FOOD: Honestly? Keep this solitary. No sense in pairing this with food that will most likely destroy it; even lemon chicken. It’s on the cheap side, so treat it as such.

WHERE TO BUY: $12.00 from the winery itself.

So we had soaked our stomachs in the first wines of the day with Pomar Junction, and now it was time on to some even more serious wines.

Wild Horse Winery

We were lucky to have stopped at mostly wineries I had never heard of before or seen on store shelves. Wild Horse was the only exception. You will recognize the label immediately and I think I have even seen some of their wines in grocery stores. While everything we tried here was absolutely delicious, take note of the “Unbridled” Merlot and the Cheval Sauvage, there were only a couple that were under the $20 mark, and among those there was one standout:

Wild Horse 2008 Malvasia Bianca

COLOR: Rich gold but not to the apple juice level. Looks very calm in the glass. What did that even mean?

NOSE: Strong, strong aromatics here, even though it was chilled. Once you plow through the initial honeysuckle smells, you get into some tangerine and cantaloupe and some ruby red grapefruit juice.

TASTE: The melon is strong with this (*cue Darth Vader breathing*). Great lychee flavors (go out and by some, their nuts) support a very rich mouthfeel and strong honey flavors. It feels like it would be too rich for even a hot day, but once you get to the finish, which stays but doesn’t really make it’s presence felt, you will know that this stuff will be good all summer long. Plus, I should point out that my brother bought an entire case.

WITH FOOD: This is a tough one, but I can’t see anything wrong with fish or even some spicier foods. It’s not going to really cut through the buttery dishes, since the acid is not the lead here.

$20 from the Wild Horse Winery

And finally, we reach the grand finale of our trip, wherein I experienced the best California red wine I have had thus far in my life. This will be a tough one to beat because the flavors were wacky and the varietal is Italian.

Bella Luna Winery

This place was the spitting image of an Italian home, right down to the half-dead dog in front and the custard paint. Run by two old fellas, both veterans of the Vietnam conflict, named Kevin Healy and Sherman Smoot. Kevin served us that day in the “tasting room” which was basically their enormous garage. The most interesting thing, other than the taste of the wine I’m about to go over, is that their Sangiovese vines are head-trained, meaning no trellises (those T-shaped things you normally see holding up the grapevines). this makes the vines grow, well, everywhere. Sort of like your lazy neighbor’s bushes.  Also interesting is that all of their fruit is dry-farmed, meaning no water unless it rains.

Bella Luna 2008 “Lot One” Barbera – San Benito County

I’m not going to go through the whole spiel here since this isn’t an under-$20 bottle, so I’ll give you the gist of my thoughts on this wine.

BUY IT IMMEDIATELY, EVEN IF IT IS $38

Basically, if you like red wine or have even the slightest interest in Italian varietals, this is a wine worth checking out. The fruit is definitely there but it doesn’t explode, and there are strong vegetal characteristics like asparagus, broccoli, green beans, and green bell pepper. Great firm tannins that don’t muscle their way in. Everything is perfectly, PERFECTLY balanced. I can’t wait to open this thing again. I even asked Mr. Healy for another try of it at the tasting room, which I’m not used to doing.

$38 at Bella Luna Winery

So that concludes our little Paso Robles Wine Country adventure here at Wine Welfare. Other trips are coming, including a number of trips up to the Edna Valley region, Santa Ynez, including Los Olivos, and a trip up to Napa, so stay tuned. AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS SERIES IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!

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Cheers!

*My wife will probably repeat that I have obsessed over this embarrassing accident since it happened nearly three weeks ago.

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We don’t normally give negative reviews here on WineWelfare.com, but in the case of the Dancing Bull Chardonnay we feel compelled to warn you. The label on this travesty said “Crisp green apple notes…”

“Notes”? This was pure apple cider, baby.

Color

All looks well. A bit more pale than most California Chardonnays, but we weren’t worried.

Nose

A little different. Good, tart green apples, little cinnamon, but no butter. Which we like. Generally, the more natural acid and less oak we get, the better.

Taste

Alright, this the ridiculous part. Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Cider is all you need to know. The wine is very hollow, very light, and very surgary. The apple flavors are there, but that’s it. Cover an apple slice in sugar and you have it, except imagine the apple slice and sugar evaporated into nothing after the first bite. Fake acidity and no finish. Ditch this like a bad Prom date.

With Food

Please God no.

$7.65 at InternetWines.com!

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Despite the name, there is nothing extraordinary or fancy about this Chardonnay. It’s your run-of-the-mill Napa Chardonnay sold at a pretty low price point. No odd flavors, no expressiveness, nothing to really excite the mouth or make you crave a particular food to match it with. Wines like this are entering our orbit more frequently these days, all of them inducing a mighty yawn from our little collective. Maybe it’s time to branch out and look for some more cheap Europeans again.

Color

Golden. Go figure. Bit pale.

Nose

Apple, bit of vanilla oak hints, but mostly apple.

Taste

More apple, bit of green Jolly Rancher and some toastiness. The oak isn’t overpowering, which is nice, but the wine lacks chutzpah. The BevMo review says “alluring on the finish,” whatever that means. It kind of ended abruptly for us and left us more interested in the crab we were eating with it. ZZZZZZ

With Food

The usual chicken or white sauce. Be warned though, that this is not going to add much to it. Maybe keep this in the rack for that special moment when everyone at the party is wondering what happened to all the wine? Then present this as some big woopty-doo.

$5.99 at GetWine.com, but they really gouge you on the shipping.

$15.99 at your local BevMo store if you are willing to pick it up in person. Surprisingly, this is still cheaper than ordering online.

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The Four Vines Naked Chardonnay is not put through malolactic fermentation, meaning more acid and crispness is retained. When Charonnay goes through this process, much of the natural acid is diminished, and then when you add in the oak barrel aging, you get butter and vanilla. While some Chardonnays are suited to those flavors, we prefer the less buttery and fat Chardonnays in favor of the biting flavors of the natural fruit.

Color

Stark difference here from many Chardonnays. The color is not so rich. Instead, you have a clearer gold, with tinges of green.

Nose

Sharp, crisp, acidic, tart. Great fruit smells rather than vanilla candle or buttered popcorn. Quenching is the best way to describe it.

Taste

Bright green apple, pear and white flowers. The acidity is not overpowering, but it still hits you right away. The alcohol is even and in the finish leaves you with peaches and a nice shot of orange/lemon. There is a minerality to the wine as well, making it feel light as it goes down.

With Food

Definitely a food wine. Since the acid is there, the Four Vines is adept at cutting through the fatty foods. Shellfish cooked or served with butter, white cream sauces, lemon chicken. Not sure about fruit and cheese, but you could try some sharp cheddar with apples and pears.

$9.99 at ArgonautLiquor.com!

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It’s Not On The Bottom Shelf For a Reason

This is a brand and winery that has been in the public view for quite awhile, though it is often seen as the “Oooooh, that’s a tad too much for tonight. Where’s an $8 bottle?” – type of wine. In other words, whenever you are at the store (most regular grocery stores carry this) or a restaurant, odds are you will see a bottle of La Crema Chardonnay, but the price point is always a bit too much for most pocketbooks.

This is the unfortunate downfall of many wines like La Crema.They have crested that $10.99 and left it behind by a few dollars, turning a lot of potential buyers off. But we’re here to tell you that even if you are picking up a ready-to-eat rotissiere chicken, some salad, and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, the La Crema Chardonnay is well worth the extra few bucks.

So be brave, pull out a couple of singles, and try something new.

Color

Beautiful pale gold. Not too oily or apple-juicey. Looks light, crisp and refreshing.

Nose

Sliced green apple, lemon and orange zest, some butterscotch (we thought Werther’s Originals).

Taste

More of those apples, only this time they are in a pie with nice hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. Crisp and refreshing with little oak, if any. The butter is there, but it floats in and out pretty quickly, which means that if this was oaked, it probably wasn’t in there for too long. Good finish with the crunchy, tart fruits hanging on for a good while.

With Food

This might be the best seafood Chardonnay we’ve seen yet. Since the butter is barely there, but the acidity is in full force and tongue-tingling, this will cut through rich shellfish dipped in butter, lobster bisques, and even heavy cream sauces with pasta, mussels, shrimp, scallops, squid, etc.

$15.99 at WineLibrary.com!

La Crema Winery

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Tolosa No-Oak Chardonnay

Given that we pretty much bashed Tolosa’s other Chardonnay into submission yesterday for being as oak-ridden as your grandmother’s antique dining table, we figured we had better give them another shot. So here we have the Tolosa “No Oak” Chardonnay, a name that still cracks us up because it was almost like they tasted their barrel aged Chardonnay and thought, “This is ridiculous. We’d better do something.” Thus, the “No-Oak” Chardonnay was born, and labeled bluntly.

Color

Same as yesterday’s “Oak” Chardonnay. Oily golden color, very viscous. Just goes to show that oak is not necessary to having a beautiful-looking Chardonnay, only decent fruit. Still, because they look alike, we’re scared.

Nose

Refreshing, which belies the thicker color and consistency of the wine. Fresh cut green apple, some lemon, some sugary pear, and a bit of minerality.

Taste

Thank. God. This is what we were hoping for. Like the nose, this wine is crisp and refreshing, while still maintaining the hallmarks of the best California Chardonnays. Excellent fruit brings up those lemons, pears, limes, and a great acid that bounces along your tongue. Full-bodied, but not as much as you would think given how thick it looked. Great vanilla and a bit of campfire towards the end, helping the heat of it back off. A solid, solid wine all the way.

With Food

Great with fish or chicken cooked in light butter sauces since the wine is crisp enough to cut through the fat of the butter. Tailor made for some crab at the Cracked Crab in Pismo Beach which, coincidentally, is about ten minutes from Tolosa’s winery in the Edna Valley of California.

$11.99 at BudgetBottle.com!

Tolosa Winery

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Color

Beautiful gold color. Rich and oily. Apple juice with a shot of olive oil.

Nose

Buttered popcorn, poached pears and…..OAK. Lots and lots of oak.

Taste

So, we’ve been reviewing wines for awhile. If you’ve kept up (and we hope you have), you should have an inkling of our palates here, and the type of wines we tend to enjoy over others. At the same time, you also probably know that we tend to not give too many bad reviews here. Oh sure, we will occasionally review a wine that we may have enjoyed, but point out that the majority of palates out there will not like it, but that’s about it.

Keeping all of that in mind, please understand when we say that this wine is terrible.

Seriously, we don’t know how one would go about grinding down an oak board into sawdust, soaking it in varnish, adding a little butter, dropping in an apple Jolly Rancher, and then putting it in a bottle to serve – but Tolosa has found a way.  You could build a table with this wine. Big pass on this.

We often enjoy oaky Chardonnays because of the light, buttery vanilla accents they can add, but when it is overdone it gets really bad. Besides, there are a good number of other Chardonnays that are much better and at a better price point.

With Food

Maybe a beaver would enjoy it with something…

$12.00 at Central Coast Wines (ccwines.com).

Also, we should note that there is a Tolosa “No Oak” Chardonnay out there as well. Apparently they realized their mistake at some point.

Check out our other Chardonnay reviews.

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Bad News First

Whoa. Just…whoa. Based on what this looks like in the glass, it’s either an entire stick of melted butter, or a severely over-oaked Chardonnay. In an episode of a “Black Books,” a hilarious British comedy, the two main characters accidentally drink some very expensive and rare wines owned by the man whose home they are watching while he is away. Once they realize their terrible mistake, they spend an evening trying to recreate the priceless vino by reading the tasting notes in a book and using simple household ingredients to mimic the flavors. When when of the notes says “oak,” one man sends the other out to fetch up an oak tree branch, which they promptly shove into the bottle to let it soak and add flavor.

That is how oaky the Cambria Katherine’s Vineyard Chardonnay is. We’re just saying. Super-oak is not for us, but some people love their rich, buttery Chardonnays.

Good News

Color: Brilliant gold. New hay and marigold. Just a very pleasant looking wine.

Nose: Vanilla beans (again, from the oak), very ripe peaches and apples smothered in cinnamon and butter.

Taste: Take a wild guess. However, we were very shocked that the oak and vanilla were balanced. The fruit really came through here and the wine took on an entirely new feel. Now, if you are super sensitive to buttery, oaky Chardonnays, this one is not for you. It is thick. It is unctious. And yes, it is VERY oaky. However, if you can get past that, you are going to find a delicious blend of white fruits: peaches, nectarine, apple, and even a slight touch of strawberry. The wood is here as well, helping to stave off the alcohol.

With Food

Shellfish with butter of some sort (clarified, on bread, etc.). Nothing else.

$8.98 at WineLibrary.com.

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Bad News First: It’s contradictory to the good comments above, but the butteriness might be off-putting to some. The wine was obviously oaked heavily, but not to death. Still, for those who like a less creamy chardonnay and prefer something more dry on the palate, this is a pass. You can also find chardonnays like the Edna Valley Paragon, which are just as good for less than 18 bones.

Now the Good: For under $20, this was the butteriest Chardonnay I’ve had since my trip to the Edna Valley in 2008. The second it hits the tip of your tongue your entire mouth feels full. I guess that’s what they call a “full mouthfeel” but I just say it’s delicious. Fruit forward but still just alcoholic enough. Peaches baked in butter.

With Food: Great with anything cooked with butter. Shellfish or Alfredo sauces.

$17.99 at BevMo

Firestone Vineyards

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