January 21, 2017 Host: Jeff & Pam Wilson Boutique California Chardonnay
On January 21, 2017, the Smoky Mountain Chapter of the American Wine Society hosted a Cult and Boutique California Chardonnay Tasting. Eleven members and two guests, tasted eight 100% chardonnay wines. Seven of the wines were from Sonoma, Napa, and Sierra Madre AVAs of California and one wine was from the south of France.
The cost of this tasting was $47.50 for members, not cheap, but many of the wines could be compared to Batard Montrachet, which sells for hundreds to thousands of dollars per bottle. Of the thirteen tasters, only six had ever tasted a small production California Cult Chardonnay and only two had ever enjoyed a Batard Montrachet or le Montrachet. This was a tasting for serious people to experience boutique chardonnays for palate education.
All of the wines were served between 60 - 65 F, after being cellared at 55 F for six weeks, stood upright three days before the tasting and double decanted 2-3 hours before the tasting.
The first wine of the evening was the 2015 Novellum. This wine was aged only three months, 80% tank and 20% neutral french oak and malolactic fermentation was blocked, yielding a crowd pleasing, fresh, fruit forward wine. Interestingly, for those tasters that brought multiple glasses and were able to save some of this wine, by the end of the evening much of the bouquet and taste had dissipated.
All of the California wines, except the 2015 Crossbarn, were finished with varying percentages and time in new French oak. Malolactic fermentation and new French oaks are procedures that winemakers use to create a buttery taste.
Favorite Wines of the Evening in Order
Wines Price Where Cases
2014 Hartford Court Four Hearts $43 Sonoma 1285
2014 Paul Lato Chardonnay “le Souvenir” 83 Sierra Madre 240
2015 Novellum 14 Languedoc-Roussillon 10,000s
2012 Morlet Family Chardonnay Ma Douce 83 Sonoma 650
2014 Kongsgaard Chardonnay Napa 104 Napa 1990
2013 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay Napa Valley 68 Napa 2400
2014 Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Ellen Lane 77 Sonoma 800
2015 Crossbarn Paul Hobbs 27 Sonoma 1,000s
Two of the tasters, that had saved a bit of the 2012 Morlet Family Chardonnay Ma Douce, until the end of the evening, noticed that the wine was still coming on and opening up, four hours after being double decanted. This would leed us the say that many of these wines would be even better with a year or two of cellaring and would still need serious decanting.
On January 21, 2017, the Smoky Mountain Chapter of the American Wine Society hosted a Cult and Boutique California Chardonnay Tasting. Eleven members and two guests, tasted eight 100% chardonnay wines. Seven of the wines were from Sonoma, Napa, and Sierra Madre AVAs of California and one wine was from the south of France.
The cost of this tasting was $47.50 for members, not cheap, but many of the wines could be compared to Batard Montrachet, which sells for hundreds to thousands of dollars per bottle. Of the thirteen tasters, only six had ever tasted a small production California Cult Chardonnay and only two had ever enjoyed a Batard Montrachet or le Montrachet. This was a tasting for serious people to experience boutique chardonnays for palate education.
All of the wines were served between 60 - 65 F, after being cellared at 55 F for six weeks, stood upright three days before the tasting and double decanted 2-3 hours before the tasting.
The first wine of the evening was the 2015 Novellum. This wine was aged only three months, 80% tank and 20% neutral french oak and malolactic fermentation was blocked, yielding a crowd pleasing, fresh, fruit forward wine. Interestingly, for those tasters that brought multiple glasses and were able to save some of this wine, by the end of the evening much of the bouquet and taste had dissipated.
All of the California wines, except the 2015 Crossbarn, were finished with varying percentages and time in new French oak. Malolactic fermentation and new French oaks are procedures that winemakers use to create a buttery taste.
Favorite Wines of the Evening in Order
Wines Price Where Cases
2014 Hartford Court Four Hearts $43 Sonoma 1285
2014 Paul Lato Chardonnay “le Souvenir” 83 Sierra Madre 240
2015 Novellum 14 Languedoc-Roussillon 10,000s
2012 Morlet Family Chardonnay Ma Douce 83 Sonoma 650
2014 Kongsgaard Chardonnay Napa 104 Napa 1990
2013 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay Napa Valley 68 Napa 2400
2014 Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Ellen Lane 77 Sonoma 800
2015 Crossbarn Paul Hobbs 27 Sonoma 1,000s
Two of the tasters, that had saved a bit of the 2012 Morlet Family Chardonnay Ma Douce, until the end of the evening, noticed that the wine was still coming on and opening up, four hours after being double decanted. This would leed us the say that many of these wines would be even better with a year or two of cellaring and would still need serious decanting.
