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EP 819 Head to Head California Chardonnay Tasting

Gary picked out 2 Chardonnays that had high scores and tasted them side by side to see if they lived up to the hype.

Wines tasted in this episode:

2007 Highland Estates Camelot Highlands ChardonnayCentral Coast Chardonnay
2006 Maldonado Chardonnay Los OlivosNapa Chardonnay

Links mentioned in todays episode.


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luca bercelli

90/100

Good show with delicious sounding wines. Even Mott comes to the party with his newly discovered tasting skills

Tags: california, chardonnay, Head to Head, review, Video, white, wine, wines

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  • jeffisrad

    “Enter Sandman” vs “Welcome to the Jungle”

  • KVM1985

    QOTD: Hmm…honestly for some reason I can't stop thinking about shoe laces. I don't mind ties at all; sometimes two things are just equally good, and that actually makes me a little happy. Have a good weekend everyone!

  • Alex

    Its my birthday on Monday 🙂 woop woop

    QOTD: Beer vs Wine 🙂

  • Battle episodes are fun. The tie doesnt bother me since you seemed excited about both, although I did expect you to pick the second one because you sounded more intrigued by that one.

  • RieslingRich

    MIS PRONOUNCED MAL DO NADO emphasis on the NA

  • Justin_in_the_Dirty_Jerz

    QOTD: My left and right shoes were tied today, actually.

  • Just Jack

    If I had to choose between keeping my wife or my dog, that would be a tie.

  • Just Jack

    Not that there is anything wrong with my wife mind you. It's just that I have an incredible dog.

  • AnthonyManzalji

    ***Highlight reel alert*** “Nutty, there is a good amount of nuts in my mouth”

    Not exactly sure what constitutes a good amount of nuts in your mouth but I am excited to try the second wine. I will give them a call and see if I can purchase this 2006 Maldonado Chardonnay Los Olivos in the Portland-Oregon area.

  • Interesting episode. Both wines would be good choices for me but the price of the Moldonado big, but I love this wine.

  • hahah love the call in part. I'm totally doing that tomorrow (it's 12:44am now).

  • YoungDave

    QOTD: I watched an episode of Iron Chef America recently that ended in a draw… a DRAW!! In Kitchen Stadium. Completely bogus!!

  • JiminAtlanta

    A tie? That does not seem like Gary V. My friends and I had a syrah vs. shiraz tasting on Friday and it seemed to be a tie. They were all good and generally in the style of big, fruity wines.

  • Tom Mok

    Even bigger disappointment with ManU after watching today’s match against Everton. The team is just not the same without Cristiano Ronaldo. Other than Wayne Rooney, the whole front line is weak. Bertatov and Owen still have not shown their worth. Welbeck, Obertan, and Valencia are just too inexperienced. The mid-field has the big names, but when it comes down to it, Darren Fletcher is the best player. You know they are in trouble when Fletcher is the best player. What’s up with that? Nani, Carrick, Hargreaves, and Anderson have not delivered all season. Sir Alex needs to think hard about this mid-field. He can’t keep relying on aging players like Giggs and Scholes. They are great, but their days are numbered.

  • Just Jack

    Plushenko was such a bed wetter about the results. He said that because he performed a quad and Lysacek didn’t, Lysacek shouldn’t be eligible to win.

    “For someone to stand on top of the podium with the gold medal around his neck by just doing triple jumps, to me it’s not progress, it’s a regress because we’ve done triples 10 or even 20 years ago,”

    I admit that it was close, but this is not a situation like Sarah Hughes in Salt Lake. That was clearly misconduct on the part of the judges. This is simply a situation exactly like this WL episode. Two different styles both well executed. To complain about the outcome in this case is pathetic.

  • Don Simpson

    Is that show cool in person? I definitely enjoy it on TV. Who was the Iron Chef and what was the secret ingredient?

  • Don Simpson

    Hilarious!

  • Nice to see to California chards showing well, as this is a style I've been unexcited about lately. Surprised to see you rule it a draw though, I thought you were going to go with the Maldonado.

    qotd – I went to a very interesting tasting last week called Napoleonic Wines: French Varietals in Italy, which had three pairs of wines, each with one French and one Italian wine chosen to highlight how differences in terroir were way more important than varietal. In my unofficial notes, I preferred an Alsatian Pinot Blanc to a Pinot Bianco from Alto Adige, an Italian Syrah to a Croze-Hermitage, and then in the most interesting pair, had to call it even between a Burgundy and a declassified Barbaresco. I was shocked at how similar these two wines were, since I don't think I've ever tasted a Pinot and a Nebbiolo side by side, and generally think of these two as miles apart. Hence the tie.

  • Great show sitting here on a Sunday morning with my pancakes and maple syrup reviewing wines have the same notes.

    Nice show and will need to do my own head-to-head with these wines. I was wrong, I guessed you were going with the Maldonado and more importantly being the competitive kind of guy, there is never a “tie.” Some one has to “win.” 🙂

    QOTD: I guess I answered the question with my previous observation. There is no such thing. In any competition, there is always a winner. No ties allowed.

    Cheers!

    P.S. Pernell was robbed.

  • corkscrew

    WDW, appreciate the feedback…it's a work in progress..having fun with it, a passion and it's a legal way to write-off my wine consumpsion!! http://www.winelx.com

  • Lidia Maldonado

    Kayla-
    contact me at lidiamaldonado@sbcglobal.com, I will get you a great deal!

  • teckdeck2008

    They sound like great wines dude. I'll have to pick those up because i'm not the biggest chard fan.

    Qotd: nothing in a while. but some winter olympic sport judging is so misunderstood by me that i feel like some of those could be a tie.

  • lawrenceleichtman

    Both sound like interesting wines but neither is available in New Mexico so doubt I'll be tasting them. A tie…..Congress, both parties are awful.
    I spit water when you said you had the taste of nuts in your mouth.

  • Nice short one!!! I've never really been into Cali chards but you make me want to!!! Thanks GV!

  • sarah Dyack

    Love he show. Great commentary on the chardonnay. I makes me want to try more and more different wines! I am a lurker generally, but only because I have two toddlers, and I often cant view he show until there are already 300 comments and it just seems too late in the game.
    Can think of a tie although the mens figure skating final might be close to it.

  • vigneronrowland

    hmmm, so you smell sherry, its golden colored, and it tastes much more aged than it actually is … oxidization?

    lol gary, its MOL-DON-ADO. like there are no Italians in Jersy?

    qotd:

  • vigneronrowland

    I like how he mispronounced it like 5 different ways every time he said it lol

  • iked this episode. maldando sounds tantalizing. um. the nutts in your mouth is still making me laugh i like carmel butterscotch honey sherry have you tried jagermeisters honey liquor? i have eastern block slavic blood grand dad born in brattaslava the czechkloslovakian gypsy belt. now know as slovakia. 2 whites tied buzz facebook scored same word plays are great. fights i like butterd not naughty carmel liquidated over green apples this sounds like a good wine to have that dessert with. your pal

  • HenryCan

    I've let go of California chard for some time now but your enthusiasm is making me want to reach out for these wines and I definitely will. Always enjoy your analogies and commentary!

    Tie for me is Megan Fox and Angelina Jolie.

  • twmartin

    Just fell upon your show yesterday. Awesome…amazing…lively….informative and fun…
    Keep it up! I watched for 4 or 5 hours yesterday and about the same today. As a server I get kind of put off by some of my patrons that “act” the part of liking wine. I am truly passionate about it and you have only made that love stronger. Thanks!

  • NY Pete

    Chris Mott is the master of all he surveys.

  • NY Pete

    hey Lawrence, I'm waiting for the long overdue line about the Marlboro Man … 🙂

  • A tie? Looks like I'll be spending double the money this weekend…

  • Anonymous

    NICE! this is the first time I have heard anyone mention a team I acctually follow, and I had to comment and say: GIANTS RULE! LINSICUM IS THE TITS!!

  • Anonymous

    LOL! The Tits!!!! Now, if Boch doesn’t run him into the ground ala Dusty Baker (who, BTW, I loved) then, both Lincecum and the Gmen should be OK this season, given that the NL West really didn’t do much this offseason, although I’m still questioning the Huff move… but we’ll see, hope for the best!

  • Nik_B

    Would love to the try the Maldonado, but I think the chances of finding in the UK are zero.

  • Anonymous

    I love Wine Exchange. Also check out Hi Time in Costa Mesa/Newport Beach.

  • Waits

    ; )

    I don’t think she’ll understand, have you tried playing Tom Waits? That always get’s ’em.

  • Thanks Gary

    Good show, got to love a bit of interest in the old Chardonnay

    QOTD: HK v Japan for the gold medal game of the East Asia Games football (soccer). Went to penalty shootoutsa and was blkoody exciting. It was a great day as well as so many HK people got out there and supported their team (for once).

  • Just Jack

    True. I could play her “Better Off Without A Wife”. A small sample of Tom’s brilliant writing:

    Hey, I got this girl I know, man, and I just
    She’s been married several times and
    I don’t wanna end up like her
    I mean, she’s been married so many times
    She’s got rice-marks all over her face
    Yeah, you know the kind.

    The man is genius…pure genius.

  • Waits

    You should do that. Love you man. Stay in touch. We have somthing in common.

    Van Morrison is the best though… ; )

  • INdeed it is interesting to see Gary’s new T-Shirt collection??? Huummmm!

  • cellarrat5

    Huge fan of that show, makes almost all cooking look like child's play. I have never seen a draw! What was the matchup?

  • cellarrat5

    This battle was quite entertaining, good length on the show. I am glad these Chards did it for you Gary, I had my doubts. Fantastic expression on your face 2:56 when you first sniffed the Maldonado. I swore you were going to go with that one, but you supprised me, thats why we keep watching! Almost had a Mott apperance in this ep, so close.

    QOTD: Cooking my own delicious meal Vs. going out to a reliably good resturant that always brings thunder.

  • Karl

    Great show. Nice to see Chardonnay getting some press. I think “nuts in my mouth” may also be on a highlight reel sometime.

  • JayZee13

    My Lord, you butchered the name of that winery! Moldonado is mol-do-NA-do. At least, my Italian friends from childhood pronounced it that way. Anyway, interesting show, even though I have sworn off Cali Chards. I may have to try the Moldonado if I can find it.

    QOTD: The thing I wear around my neck at work most days. 😉

  • Just Jack

    For me it is Megan any day. Angeline would scare me. If Billy Bob Thornton couldn’t handle her she must be a force of nature when she gets pissed.

  • SourGrapesFC

    Mott is the greatest QPR in today’s world, wine or otherwise.

  • SourGrapesFC

    PBR can’t taste good because PBR doesn’t taste like anything. Get rid of the kid stuff and have some real beer.

  • SourGrapesFC

    Reznor, on the other hand, would probably drink rubbing alcohol.

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