Origin: Monterey County, CA
Grape: Chardonnay
Alcohol:2%
Price point: $10.00
Year Reviewed: 2017
Bing Maps
The Chalone AVA is an American Viticultural Area in the Monterey and San Benito counties of California, located in the Gabilan Mountains east of Soledad. The 8,640 acres (3,496 ha) region is named for the nearby Chalone peaks. The region has limestone and decomposed granite soil.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalone_AVA#/media/File:South_and_North_Chalone_Peaks_from_Pinnacles_National_Monument_Chalone_Peak_Trail.jpg
On the nose I pick up green fruit, apple, fresh meadow grass and a hint of pineapple and pear. On the palate, there are hints of pear, lemon and lime. This is a light acidity, medium body, crisp and clean wine which gets its character from a limestone, granite and clay soil and an area covered by morning fog that cools the grape vines. (As I pointed out previously in other chardonnay reviews, there are two main types: the buttery ones made through the malolactic formation process and the other ones through the routine fermentation process. This wine is the latter one.) Watch out as this 14.2% alcohol in a white wine will sneak up on you if you are not expecting it. Most lighter white wine drinkers are not used to this.
Pair with a beautiful three cheese quiche, goat cheese, chicken or fish
Some additional notes on 90+ Cellars Wine. 90+ cellar wines are derived from searching the world over for overstock……really. It is like overstock.com of wines. Their market niche is purchasing up excess quantities of already labelled wines which have scored 90 + points. They will only list the region the wine is from, but will not inform you of the actual wine producer and the private label. What this means for the consumer? You are usually paying $5 to $10 less for a privately labeled wine. Try some 90+ cellar wines. Their Malbec, Cabernet and Red blend are all lovely wines. I think you won’t be disappointed.