Saintsbury Carneros Chardonnay

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Carneros Chardonnay: Critics’ Reviews

February 2007

vintage:

2005

rating:

90 pts.

Fairly rich and sporting a quiet suggestion of complex layering in its medium-volume aromas, this wine is smoothly textured as it enters the mouth and gives up very little of its comfortable feel as it crosses the palate. Its green apple and creamy oak flavors hold well at the end despite a late-arriving edge of coarseness as it finishes. Try it with food or give it a bit of bottle age. Either is certain to turn out well.

January/February 2006

vintage:

2004

rating:

86 pts.

Leesy, musky aromas of citrus peel and nutty oak. A bit disjointed on the palate, with fruit in the background, but with good sweetness, acid spine and grip. Slightly minty finish turned a bit oakier as the wine opened in the glass.

December 2005

vintage:

2004

rating:

N/A

Best White This reliable winery continues to fine-tune its approach and seems to always find a way to leep ahead of the competition. Years ago Saintsbury stopped filtering it Chardonnay, with excellent results. Today, it has developed an approach to oak that works wonders as well. This 2004 was fermented in French oak and aged sur lie for eight months. About 30% of the barrels are new. The lees are stirred frequently and malolactic takes place in the barrels. What emerges is a Chardonnay with beautiful structure and concentration. It offers aromas of pear, citrus and hazelnuts. The flavours are vibrant, fruit-focused and persistent. It drinks well now but should come together beautifully in 3-4 years.

September 2004

vintage:

2002

rating:

N/A

Best American Chardonnay $20 and Under 2002 Saintsbury Carneros Unfiltered ($20) Richard Ward and David Graves were pioneers in California’s cool, breezy Carneros region back in 1981. They predicted that the cool, almost marginal climate was perfect for producing rich, barrel-fermented Burgundian-accented Chardonnays like this—and they were right.

May/June 2004

vintage:

2002

rating:

87 pts.

Bright, light yellow. Leesy aromas of lime, caramel and vanillin oak. Firmly structured and brisk, but a bit youthfully disjointed. Today the wine’s lemony acids clash with its oak element, giving the finish a slight dry edge. I’d hold off on this wine until 2005.

December 23, 2003

vintage:

2002

rating:

88 pts.

(This is a) delicious, fruit-forward offering revealing both elegance and flavor intensity. The 2002 Chardonnay Carneros is a very good value, revealing notes of tropical fruits, citrus, a candied pineapple/lime-like character, and subtle oak. Drink it over the next 1-2 years.

October 22, 2003

vintage:

2002

rating:

3.5 Stars

There's delicacy to this wine.. Notes of melon and toast. Earthy. Good balance. Long, rich finish.

May/June, 2003

vintage:

2001

rating:

88 pts.

Clear pale yellow. Aromas of lemon candy, lime, butter and smoke. Concentrated, supple and ripe but dry, with very good density and structure. Tangy flavors of cintrus fruits, stone and fennel. Not especially complex, but lively, subtle and long - and not all overly oaky.