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One of the most memorable wines we've had together was a bottle of 1990 Robert Sinskey Chardonnay that we snagged at a cellar sale at the winery in 2009. The rich flavors of baked apple and pear, butter pastry, alyssum, honey, toffee, nutmeg, and vanilla were a perfect match for the Point Reyes Creamery blue cheese we'd bought earlier that day. We shared it with two friends and the four of us just sat there sipping and chewing in silence for several minutes, amazed at the perfection we stumbled upon by chance.
Chardonnay is the Lady Gaga of wine: A shape-shifter that still remains unmistakably itself. In one incarnation it's thick and creamy like butter and in another it's spare and mineral and in another it's Champagne. Some taste great at almost 20 years of age, others fade fast. One bottle might be perfect with pan-roasted scallops while another could stand up to steak. We chose five to taste that represented the range of flavors that winemakers get from 100% Chardonnay still wines, Old World and New, oaked and unoaked, malo-lactic and not.
For dinner, Scott served brie and baguette, roasted chicken breasts over braised greens, and baked apples for dessert.
Bottle 1: Teatro Chardonnay 2009, Mendoza, Argentina ($6.99)
Rank Amateurs Said: pale yellow color, green apple in the nose, high acidity, crisp, no oak, medium body, not much malolactic, short finish
In a Word: Crisp
Paired with Food: Acid cut through the fat of the chicken skin and the brie
Bottle 2: Wölffer Estate Chardonnay 2007, Long Island, NY ($14.99)
Rank Amateurs Said: yellow color, apple tart and vanilla in the nose, no malo-lactic, crisp, medium acidity, medium body, short finish
In a Word: Fresh
Paired with Food: Lightly more subtle acid still stood up to fatty chicken skin but also tasted more fruit in the wine in combination with the protein, great with brie
Bottle 3: La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2008, Sonoma, CA ($19.99)
Rank Amateurs Said: golden yellow color, butter right upfront, grapefruit, vanilla, and caramel in the nose, mineral note, citrus zest, pineapple, medium acidity, big malo-lactic, medium-full body, buttery finish, "exactly what I expect from California Chard"
In a Word: California
Paired with Food: Roasted skin paired with this wine made us think it could handle an even richer dish, flabby tasting with the brie, great with the apples
Bottle 4: Jean-Claude Bessin Chablis 2007, Burgundy, France ($26)
Rank Amateurs Said: yellow color, apple, citrus, mineral, and metal in the nose, high acidity, clean, wet rock, light-medium body, long finish
In a Word: Mineral
Paired with Food: Great with everything, with its fruit and mineral notes enhanced in the pairings
Bottle 5: Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet 2006, Burgundy, France ($58)
Rank Amateurs Said: "wow," golden yellow color, artichoke, heart of palm, vanilla, apples, olives, and wet leaves in the nose, light oak, clean, "autumnal" medium acidity, medium body, long finish
In a Word: Classic
Paired with Food: Perfect with brie, chicken, and apples, seeming to change with each partner to taste more crisp or more round as the pairing demanded
Links
Wölffer Estate
La Crema Winery
Maison Joseph Drouhin
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