Saturday, May 8, 2010

2007 Gary Farrell Chardonnay Starr Ridge Vineyard

I opened this wine because I wanted to have a reference point for the winery that was not pinot. Like the pinot, this fruit is sourced from designated vineyards and bottled so that the characteristics of the terroir shine through.

The color of this wine was a light golden yellow. Nothing out of the ordinary there, just great chardonnay color.

The nose was very complex. Golden apples, tropical fruit, honey, peaches, with some well integrated vanilla and oak. This smells like its going to be great.

The flavor did not disappoint. You could detect all of the aromas on the nose, but there was also a nice amount of acidity that did not let the oak and vanilla control the wine.

This was about perfect to me for California chardonnay. Great job by a great producer. They were not shy with the price point and at $40 there may be more cost effective options in the marketplace, but I'm not sure you'll find something better.

I used to get upset about paying that much for white wine, but had no problem paying the same amount for a red wine from the same producer. If you have the same issue please break free of that mind set. I often hear people say, "I dont like white wines, I only drink reds". The problem may be that you like reds because you are willing to pay $35-40 per bottle but wont pay more than $10-15 for a bottle of white. Remember, like most everything else, quality comes at a certain price.

We will be moving away from Napa/Sonoma for the next tasting. I plan to taste a Klinker Brick Old Vines Zinfandel. This winery is from Lodi and starting to get some decent press. The price points are good so let's see what they have to offer.

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