Welcome to binNotes…I’ve been busy with a piece on Sonoma for Palate Press due out in June…however, a recent close encounter with a $40 Limited Edition 2009 Chardonnay brought me screaming back to the blogosphere.
Wait a minute, you may say. Didn’t binNotes decide to relegate her wine reviews to post-it notes on Pinterest in 2013? Yes…binNotes figures the wine world has enough throbbing egos slathering at the bit to obloviate on all things vineous.
However…after a long day of wordsmithing, a nice chilled glass of 2009 Limited Edition Chardonnay sounds like a refreshing dip in a cool pool after a sweltering day toiling in the fields.
Let me set the scene for you:
The bottle: heavy. The label: impressive. The cork: Clean. The clarity: good. The color: brassy. The wine: sound. The aroma: hmmm…hard to discern…it’s a bit…well..citrus? Maybe? The taste:…ok – forget taste confirming the aroma. It’s a complete oak bomb. Despite the winemaker’s assurance it’s been made in the ‘Burgundian’ style.
Maybe I’m being unduly harsh. After all…it is a $40 Limited Edition Chardonnay.
Let me consult the winemaker’s tasting note. On Youtube, I learn a few things:
1. The winemaker does not typically do chardonnay.
2. The winemaker made chardonnay at the request of wine members.
3. The grapes were sourced from a region not typically known for cool-weather varietals.
4. The grapes arrived ‘perhaps’ a bit riper than necessary.
5. While initial fermentation occured in concrete, the malolactic fermenation occured in 100% new French oak, with no batonage (stirring of lees) after the first 2 months.
The website tasting notes mention hints of carmel and butterscotch and lemon curd and puff pastry ‘…set against a background of graham crackers and hay.’
Graham crackers and hay? Really?
I never pegged graham crackers and hay as possible olfactory tasting mates…like, ever.
Notes of yak urine and cow manure tea with hints of toasted BS – perhaps. But graham crackers and hay – never.
So next time you feel intimidated at a tasting…just pull out the old ‘graham crackers and hay’ combo. Your tasting companions will be too intimidated to contradict you. And you can say you heard it from an expert. On Youtube.
Bonus:
For those of you who missed this video earlier, here’s a cautionary tale about wine snobbery to help keep things in perspective…cheers!
Video: Courtesy http://www.boringwineguy.com
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Filed under: Chardonnay, Wine Tasting Tagged: blog, food, lifestyle, tasting notes, travel, wine, Wine tasting
