We continue our special California chardonnay week with this coveted $42 wine from Napa Valley’s 2007 vintage.
Bias alert! I’m doing this series because I don’t generally like California chardonnays — so if I can recommend one, it’s probably good enough for most people. I am not a normal, impartial judge of this kind of wine.
Am I crazy?? This $42 (sometimes $53) (but look here — just $32.98) chardonnay, thought to be one of the best in the U.S., isn’t good enough?? The wine that I actually saw two grown men fight over in an Atlanta liquor store that had only 1 bottle left (one of whom turned out to be my dentist!)??
First, Cakebread was better than this week’s previous (low-dollar) contenders. We had high hopes, because this chard was one of the best in Napa Valley when I visited Cakebread‘s winery in 2004. But it seems oakier and more buttery now. Our first drink made us grimace uncontrollably. It tasted like the fake, clogged-up stuff you get when you absentmindedly order “white wine” at some stupid work-related event. The smell was VERY oaky and buttery. Decanting didn’t help — still tasted like an improved version of Clos du Bois, which we dissed here.
But on day 2, things improved a lot. NOW this golden boy began to act right — a smell of honeysuckles and a taste of (acidic) lemon/lime, countered by (sweet) honeydew melon and cantaloupe. And a hint of oak, which combined with the citrus to zap your tongue with a mildly spicy “zing!” Wow — a natural-tasting, balanced, white wine.
Then there’s the price. I would highly recommend this wine at $23. But at $42, or $53, or whatever, I expect a near-orgasmic experience. So far, only pinot noirs at this price level have earned a recommendation from your Wineguider. Unfortunately, at $42 this golden boy is:
Not recommended.
Next!
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