Mo rning Fo g Chard o nnay

Three Chardonnay Wines 2012 Vintage that willplease

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In this review, we look at three Chardonnays wines, each f rom dif f erent wine appellations inCalif ornia. We have two Wente Vineyard Chardonnay wines, one f rom Livermore and the other f romMonterey County. Both of these were sent to me as wine samples. The third wine is f rom McIlroyCellars in the Russian River Valley.

Wente Vineyards Morning Fog Chardonnay 2012

The Morning Fog is f rom Wente’s estate vineyards in Livermore. We get f resh apples and lively f ruitin this unoaky Chardonnay. Half of the blend was barrel f ermented in neutral oak and the other half instainless steel. The f inish f or me was unique in that I f ound cinnamon lingering on my palate. TheSaf eway carries this wine and the regular price is $14.27 but always on sale f or less, around $10. TheBevMo price is $11.99. On the Wente online wine shop it is $12.00. I like this wine, no f laws and wortha try unless you enjoy an oaky Chardonnay. 87 Points.

WenteVineyardsRiva Ranch

Chardonnay 2012

This Chardonnay is f rom Wente’s estate vineyards in Arroyo Seco in Monterey County. It has atoasty nose, mild and gentle oak f lavors in the mouth. This wine was barrel f ermented in oak and asmall portion f ermented in stainless steel. Thus, you get some oak, good acidity, and f resh f ruitcharacters all rolled into one. I like this wine a notch above the Morning Fog. I tasted both wines side-

Riva Ranch Chard o nnay

by-side. Riva Ranch has more character and f lavors throughout. A very nice and f ood-f riendlyChardonnay! $13.99 at BevMo and $14.99 at Trader Joe’s. $22 on Wente’s online wine shop. 88Points

McIlroyCellars

Chardonnay – Costco $12.99

This is a very good price f or a delicious-tasting Chardonnay. I look at this wine as an in-betweener inthe world of Chardonnay. It has more intensity than a pure stainless steel Chardonnay, but it is notbig and bold like many of the rich Calif ornia Chardonnays. It has a certain crispness to it and goodf lavors, especially in the af tertaste. The wine comes f rom the McIlory Aquarius Vineyard in theRussian River Valley. The McIlroy won a Gold Medal in its class (under $19.99) at the 2013 SonomaCounty Harvest Fair. There was plenty of this at the Foster City Costco the last t ime I was there.Interesting note: I went to the McIlroy Cellars website and f ound that it has not been updated inseveral years. Not a good way to communicate with your consumers! 88 Points.

McIlro y Chard o nnay

S.F Gateand SanFranciscoChronicle –20 for lessthan $20

Wine editorJon Bonnélists his 20wines f orless than$20. Hestates theyshould beavailablelocally butonly lists theimporter. Onething missingto myamazement, no Spanish Rioja wine is listed. See the list of 20.