Wine By Nine

White Wine by Talbott from Central Coast, California. The best barrels from Talbott Chardonnay, Sleepy Hollow Vineyard were reserved and bottled unfined and unfiltered and without cold stabilization, true to the Grand Cru tradition. The resulting wine is concentrated, rich, and opulent with lush mouth feel and spine-tingling structure. This 2003 vintage shows almost unfathomable balance between richness, flavor, and acid. The nose shows lemon, tart pear, white peach, and nectarine with toast and cinnamon notes. On the palate, the wine is lovely, round, and supple with exquisite balance and forward tropical fruit and vibrant acid that lingers through the long finish. While we provide extensive bottle age in the winery cellar before release, we believe this vintage of Cuvee Cynthia will cellar well for five to ten years more.

White Wine by Silver from Central Coast, California. For the winemaking team that brings you Caymus, Mer Soleil, and and Belle Glos! This second vintage follows last year's successful debut of Silver, an effort to unite the crisp mineral essence of classic Chablis style with the tropical elements found in Chardonnay of the Pacific coastline. Using Chardonnay grown in special blocks of the Mer Soleil Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County, we harvested the grapes when just fully ripe, their gold color hued with green, expressing clean aromas of Chardonnay fruit and firm acidity. The result is our latest presentation of a Chardonnay we consider as sleek and cool as Silver. -Charlie Wagner II, Winemaker This unoaked Chardonnay is a light gold color with a pale green tint. Clean, lively aromas of honeydew melon and green apple carry over to delicate tropical fruit flavors of pineapple and papaya, balanced with crisp mineral.

White Wine by Mer Soleil from Central Coast, California. This marks the 13th vintage for Mer Soleil Chardonnay, and captures the best of what the coastal landscape of Monterey County's wine country offers each year. Lots were aged separately in French oak barrels, about 40 percent of which were new oak. The wine was then crafted in the cellar until it was ready for bottling, producing the fully-ripened, sea-and-sun brilliance of flavor for which Mer Soleil is known. The wine opens with tropical fruit and honeysuckle aromas. Luxurious flavors of creme brulee and even a hint of butter are framed by notes of fine oak and the lively acidity of citrus zest. The mouthfeel is full and lush and brings all the wine's elements through to a long, persistent finish. Exotic aromas of orange marmalade, lychee, honey and brown spice. Oily flavors of candied mango, lemon butter and pineapple. Honeyed close exudes butter. -Wine News

White Wine by Testarossa from Central Coast, California. Pale straw color. Initial aromas of honey, lemon, orange blossom, fig, and banana jump readily out of the glass. Layers of citrus, honey, and creme brulee flavor the palate, surrounded by lively acidity. The finish starts subtle, yet focused then begins it's ascent to a lengthy, multi-dimensional finish of fruit and spice. Drink now through 2013.

White Wine by Testarossa from Central Coast, California. Aromas of fig, citrus, and honey start out and quickly transition into scents of cre`me brulee, banana, and peach. Flavors of peach and cre`me brulee continue through the palate into a silky, yet crisp mouthfeel. This wine is wrapped gently by French oak, and the mid-palate richness continues through into a long, complex finish. - Bill Brosseau, Winemaker

White Wine by Chalone from Central Coast, California. Grown entirely at our estate vineyard, the 2003 Chardonnay is an extremely fine and delicate wine with aromas of stone fruit and brioche. Ten months of sur lie aging in 100 percent French oak barrels gives texture and imparts complex aromas of vanilla and hazelnut. As is typical of Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay, the acidity is firm and bright and the wine possesses gobs of minerality from our unique limestone site. I like to call Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay the white wine for red wine drinkers. Its rich flavors, distinctive minerality and crisp acidity make it a versatile wine to complement rich, robust dishes such as pasta in cream sauces, roasted salmon, grilled chicken breast and pork chops.

White Wine by Gainey from Central Coast, California. Gainey's Evan's Ranch Vineyard, planted in the cool Santa Rita Hills appellation in 1997, has reached its stride and is now consistently producing distinctive, high quality grapes, creating a distinctive house style for Gainey Chardonnay. The 2005 vintage produced some outstanding wines, and the 2005 Chardonnay is one of them. Its fascinating nose reveals lovely poached pear and baked apple aromas enhanced by creamy vanilla, marzipan, and buttered popcorn scents, with hints of gardenia, tea rose, kaffir lime and toasted oak adding intrigue and complexity. On the palate, the wine boasts a creamy, mouth-coating texture with exuberant green apple and lemon rind flavors gaining further interest from subtle peanut brittle and mineral notes, while balanced acidity keeps the whole package fresh and lively.

White Wine by Bernardus from Central Coast, California. Number 24 on the Wine.com 100 of 2007! One of the best values in California Chardonnay that we've seen in a long time. Bright yellow hue. Shy scents of peach, brown butter and dusty gravel. Rich, quite ripe, though very taut, flavors of buttery banana, lime and oak spice. Very long close positively gushes with stone fruit and apple notes. -The Wine News 95 Points The beautiful weather throughout the critical months of September and October of 2005 provided us with ripe and perfectly balanced fruit. At Bernardus, all our grapes our hand picked and very gently pressed in order to retain their best characteristics. The resulting wine is a perfect expression of Monterey Chardonnay, with bright citrus and tropical fruit aromas married with mineral notes and subtle toasty oak nuances. The lush, opulent palate is intense and focused with complex flavors of ripe pineapple, lime, mineral notes, and creme brulee lingering on a long, creamy finish.

White Wine by Lincourt from Central Coast, California. As is typical, the lion share of this Chardonnay is sourced from Santa Maria Valley's famous Bien Nacido Vineyard, with the balance coming from cool-climate vineyards in Sta. Rita Hills. The Bien Nacido fruit gives the wine its signature tropical fruit aromatics and its lush texture in the mouth. The Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay provides lemon curd and mandarin orange notes, and the acidity to give the wine structure. All of the different lots were whole cluster pressed, barrel fermented and aged for 11 months in 60-gallon French oak barrels. While in oak, the wine completed 100% Malolactic fermentation. Lees were stirred weekly to give the Chardonnay a richer, more opulent mouth feel, and a toasted bread-like bouquet. The crisp acidity and low pH keeps the wine interesting from first sip to last.

White Wine by Kendall-Jackson from Central Coast, California. Elegant and tropical with hints of lemon oil essence, key lime and yellow grapefruit. Notes of ripe pineapple and mango can be found throughout this exquisitely balanced Chardonnay. Lushly layered and viscous with a firm acidity and enchanting creamy texture. The finish lingers on and on. - Randy Ullom, Winemaster

White Wine by Au Bon Climat from Central Coast, California. The 2006, like the '05, is a truly alternative style of California white wine. The wine has not been compromised in quality at any step in its production. Low yielding, high quality vineyards (Bien Nacido, Rancho Vinedo, and Los Alamos) are hand-pruned, leaf thinned by hand, sustainably farmed, and hand picked. The grapes are whole cluster pressed, unsettled (a Burgundian tradition, like the weather), straight to Francois Freres small barrel for primary fermentation and malo-lactic, topped once a week by hand, sur lie, and bottled after a careful fining and no filtration. All of the French wood is neutral. This wine is fruit driven, lees enhanced, texturally sophisticated, balanced, bright, complex, and concentrated from yields under 3 ton per acre. Remember when Chardonnay had stone fruit (not tropical), firm acidity, brightness, earthiness, minerality, and no vestige of heaviness? Au Bon Climat certainly does! Here is your alternative. Chardonnay is not an aromatic variety, it needs wood and lees, but can be vinified in an elegant, fresh, and food friendly fashion.

White Wine by Calera from Central Coast, California. The 2006 Central Coast Chardonnay is wonderfully vibrant. Bright, fresh varietal aromas are accented with notes of citrus, pineapple and exotic tropical fruits. On the palate, excellent structure and balance promote the wine's alluring combination of ripe fruit flavors, accented with floral notes and a nice touch of oak.