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EP 841 California Chardonnay Tasting

Gary has a confession to make- he’s starting to like oaky and buttery Chardonnays again. Today he tastes through 3 different wines in search of these flavors….

Wines tasted in this episode:

2008 Clos Blancheau James Berry ChardonnayPaso Robles Chardonnay
2007 Neyers Chardonnay El NovilleroNapa Chardonnay
2007 Newton Unfiltered ChardonnayNapa Chardonnay


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luca bercelli

90/100

line of the day – ‘that’s a girl I did years ago’

Everyone who’s ever had a glass of wine should watch this and realise that what you like one year you might not like the next

Tags: chardonnay, review, Video, white, wine, wines

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  • scottEJ

    Thanks, G. I'm on a bit of big, rich chard kick myself. I equate it to the change of seasons, whereas I'm moving away from the hearty reds and moving into the warmer season whites. So, the big chards and the rose' wines are what I'm looking at most.

    QOTD: No.

    QOTD: As mentioned, I'm moving towards the bigger Cali, WA, South Africa, & Chilean chards at the moment. I then see my palate moving towards the Sauv. Blancs, Pinot Grigios, etc. Ultimately, my palate has four seasons.

  • Damn. That Neyers description sounded like a tour of a candy store. With a J Lo finish? Wow. ANd you can hate the Niners, but seriously, you can't hate San Fran. Best city on the western seaboard. The coast-est with the most-est.
    QOTD: Was totally over Merlot, even before the movie Sideways came out, but have found myself gravitating back to some serious fruit-vanilla Merlot bombs from Washington and CA. They just are really good to pound on the back porch now that the weather is warming up…but not yet hot enough to switch to pounding Pinot Gris and Chards. That is coming. Party on.

  • Joakim Hirschberg

    Spectacular palateswift! Wine is fasionating you can never get tired of drinking wine!:) palate goes in cycles:)

  • imskyhigh

    great to see gary honest about his palette changing- always a good reminder to trust the taste buds- wherever they are at

  • M Cole

    I have definently noticied that my pallete has changed lately. I was so into california cabernet, and now I am finding myself looking for a more balanced wine, more old world. Northern Rhones, especially crozes hermitage

  • Gary's wife must've influenced his taste…come admit it, she likes the oak monster!!

  • justiles

    Usually when I'm drinking white wine, it's not chard since I find most are a little heavy for the Texas summer heat. However, I would like to try the Blancheau if I can find it.

    QOTD: I love listening to all music, but always come back to the Dave Matthews Band.

  • boomy13

    Good show G.
    QOTD: Have not had any of the following. Went back to Malbec recently, from the Zin's I was drinking. All and all, haven't had much time to sip it up lately, but will this weekend. 🙂

  • CharlieTN

    Never had any of those… and I haven't been drinking wine long enough to leave something and come back to it. Only been 21 for about 8 months. But I can say that about some other things. Like, I got very tired of Tennessee by the time I left, but now that I live in the north, I like TN and the south a lot better. 4 years ago, I never would have put “TN” in my profile name. Now I identify a lot more with my home state.

  • aeggert

    Great show, Gary.

    QOTD 1: I haven't tried any of the wines you tasted in this episode. I did discover the Alma Rosa (http://winelibrary.com/wines/51136-2005+Alma+Ro…) when it was up on Cinderella and once I opened up the first bottle of the 4 I had ordered I immediately went back and bought a whole case.

    QOTD 2: Can't say I've “come back” to any particular varietal that I haven't had in a while. Thanks largely to the show, and your insistence that we try new things I'm always picking up new wines that look interesting to me. I blame you for my inability to answer this question ;-p

    Cheers!

  • QOTD: I was brought up on sweet wines. (Do you remember ads in the NY subway for Shapiro's wine, wine that you could cut with a knife? The wine looked like canned cranberry sauce.) By my 20's a taste of concord grape would put me in sugar shock (or make me puke). Then, I spent 2 years in Germany and got around to trying Riesling mit praedikat: Kabinett, Auslese, BA, TBA from good producers. Wow! So now I'm a sucker for a good LH or sauternes, but I got to admit I still don't like sweet reds all that much.
    Prost!
    Carlo P.

  • royjosephson

    hallelujah, you have finally seen the light!

  • QOTD : Cali Sauv. Blanc 😮

  • castello

    LH?

  • i just love your description of these wines. and your subliminal messsages. hows mott? you look well and my pallate has been changing as well. anything new lets see. i guess ive come to an awareness concerining my obsessions with wine music andmen. i still love all three but as you put it i like the wazoo on the back end. have a wonderful holiday with your family. regards sherry

  • wesleymcallister

    Gary you should have done this for the April fools episode. No one would have believed it either. On good people day I just want to let you know you are one good person. Thanks for doing this show. You have no idea how much it means for me to be able to wine nerd it up with you and the rest of these good vayniacs folks.

  • Anonymous

    PBR rules

  • WEU

    Tried the Newton, love it, love it…..Mostly because of the body of the wine, the flavors from being unfiltered… however I don't have the finances to drink $40 wines but I highly recommend it to wine drinker fans of quality CA Chard……….

  • Kahuna's ManZier

    Been lovin me some Kistler of late.. Great episode!
    I still loves me the Oregon Pinot.

  • Oakmon's BF

    Yikes!!! I totally forgot my anniversary! Thanks for reminding me.

  • Oakmon's BF

    I miss Mott.

  • Michael C in MKE

    QOTD1:NO

    QOTD2: I'm back into Rhones. Which is kinda where I started.

  • Pat__B

    I escaped a funk with Oregon pinots a few months back only to find myself preoccupied with Washington syrahs.

  • Anonymous

    The Maya predicted eons ago that 2009 in Bordeaux will be another solid vintage…but they won’t be released until 2012, and the world’s gonna end that year…

  • cubs2806

    QOTD1 No
    QOTD2 Had been drinking a lot of cabs but have come back to syrah, my true love in wine. Although summer is coming and will probably be moving to roses and whites

  • cubs2806

    Late Harvest

  • divyamistry

    QOTD1: Nope. Never had any of those wines.
    QOTD2: Indeed. And more than just a specific varietal, it's been the wine-type in general. I started off with white wines, and then quickly got over them and moved on to Reds. But last couple of months, I've been gravitating towards whites again. Whites just excite my palate a lot more than the reds do these days.

  • audiofan

    The '05 Newton was kinda my “house” chardonnay for awhile, and has always been better balanced than most of the 'butter-bombs' you describe. I've never considered it to be remotely over-oaked. Have also had the Neyers on several occasions, but found it to be a touch heavy-handed; perhaps their style is changing. I drink Chablis when I fancy that crisp, drier style, although many are themselves given the oak treatment, with a lighter toast and less contact. Most other noteworthy French white Burgundy's have become too dear for me, although I believe them to be the reference-point for great Chardonnay, as are most French wines regardless of varietal. I enjoy both styles for what they are, and drink whatever I'm in the mood for that day. The greatest Chardonnay I've tasted (and my WOTY so far) was the 1995 Salon.

  • taciturnforsale

    Hey Gary, I just got my autographed silkscreen from the Three Thieves. I wanted to thank you for getting me in on that scoop. Once framed it will add some beautiful color to my wall.

  • Allan

    Thnx for the confession G, every palate changes with time, both back and forth. Good on ya. Spot of grey??? (Midlife crisis comin' up)! I had my first midlife crisis when i was 16 ; )

    Classic WLTV!

    Qotd1: Newton a couple of times. Great wine. Gotta recommend the Kistler 2006 Hyde Vineyard. Amazing. Impeccable balance.
    Qotd2: Beginning to digggg the Big-boy wines again (High alcohol/Octane stuff) When the mood is right. . . . . . .

    Mott!!! Mott!! Mott!

    Bring back Mott and the oakmonster! Cheers to all Vayniacs… ; )

  • Allan

    We all miss the Mottster!

  • A_S

    QOTD1: No
    QOTD2: German rieslings:)

  • Great show G. Funny, I'm pull'n a 180 from your perspective. I was into the “Oak Monster” Chardonnays before now I look for the east coast non buttery stlye. I know you have done a show including Sakonnet Vineyards (say it like it is spelled. Not French) chardonnay but Greenvale from Portsmouth RI is better. Very clean and crisp.

    My palatte always changes in the spring . Even in beer I will change from a porter style to a hoppy style IPA in the spring. My new fav beer is Nugget Nectar. Very bitter and I love it.

    BTW- glad it was a joke.

  • nickgrzenda

    QOTD 1: Haven't had those
    QOTD 2: My palate goes through phases, right now I'm hitting up a little more old world stuff. But I just got off a Cali. Cab/Merlot/Red Blend Kick. I actually just picked up a Calified wine I was drinking fairly frequently a few months ago, and was really not as pleased with it as I was 3 months ago (although I still thought it was good). My palate likes to change it up quite frequently.

  • nickgrzenda

    You should try, if you haven't already, the Cougar Crest Syrah. Great stuff, although I think it's gone up in price over the last few years. Their Cab Franc is really nice too.

  • castello

    I got mine too. I'm not sure it's worthy of a frame though.

  • castello

    Elron is back?

  • Allan

    Nope! I have been on vacation the last 4 days, so haven't been posting, But now i'm back. Good to see you again, Cheers!

  • elron

    Lol!

    Sometimes, I post as Randinthecity as well. 😉

    Is this the famous Allan?

  • nice work GV!

  • nice work GV!

  • JiminAtlanta

    You have made a lot of chardonnay drinkers happy. There are buttery chardonnay drinkers out there who have been waiting for this show. QOTD – I go back and forth with Germany reisling. I drink them for a while and then forget about them for a while. They are that much better when I return and remember why I liked them in the first place.

  • here here

  • lawrenceleichtman

    I have had the Neyers and Newton and they are definitely not my style. For the ultimate buttered popcorn, try Sawyer a small producer on Highway 29 in Napa. That was the most buttered popcorn malolactic chardonnay I have had. I like the crisp clean citrus style like Stony Hill. I went back to liking Cabernet Franc. I was off it for quite a while and then gave it a chance again and got turned on by it.

  • lordsauvignon

    Your palate has changed!!!! Thats kinda cool. Thanks for letting us know, or else we all would have been like ??? whats up with Gary? Sounds like these are some good ones.

    QOTD: I have not had any of those. I tend to go back and forth with Chardonnay.

  • vanvino

    Butter, oaky chard were one of my first palate expanding experiences. Honestly, I really don't like unoaked chards. I'd rather have a s. b. or gruner or riesling than an unoaked chard. Actually, I rather have any of those than a chard in general.

    QOTD: I've recently come back to fish. About four years ago I went total vegetarian, but last summer my wife and I went to Hawaii and decided to eat fresh fish there. Now I'm having fish about once a week. I guess that makes me a pescatarian.

  • greentank

    I went back to buttery, oaky chards about 6 months ago. Was drinking them alot from 1995 to 2005, then backed off…..they're big but I love em. Reminds me I need to buy some Sarah's Vinyard Chard for old time sake.

    Gary – request, try a few Caduceus wines from AZ.

  • I guess I look at big oak / butter chards as almost a different grape (yea, I know it's not). But the white burgundy style chards – almost like Sauv Blanc with fruit flavors – are my choice for with food. And I think the Calif chards are expanding in style and breaking out more.

    Gone back to??? Probably it is going back to whites in general more now – esp with the wide varieties of Sauv Blanc and Pinot Gris out there.

  • daveholland

    Gary, you, with a WHOLE LOTTA YOU, are changing the meaning and definition of living and working your Passion, forever – and I LIKE it. Your Neyers tasting simply a treasure to watch, couldn't wipe the grin off my face. Great great job to watch on an early Monday morning. Cheers! One more lurker off the wall.

  • heathermcneil

    Love the Idol reference! So wish I could find the love for CA Chards…Maybe in Anguilla!

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