2013 What We Love The Winery Chardonnay

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I had a business trip that took me to Longmont, Colorado this past September.  The meetings ended early so I had a free afternoon.  I knew there were wineries in the Boulder area and had wanted to check them out.  I wasn’t sure where they were located and I did a bit of internet searching for Boulder wineries and came up with a handful so Chris and I were on our way.  The first winery we stopped at was Boulder Creek Winery.  The wine tasting was only $5 per person with a $3 refund with a bottle purchase.  This is far less than we’re accustomed to paying in the Valley’s of California!  While we were tasting the wines the cellar room was open allowing visitors to do a self conducted tour where we saw the process spelled out pretty well and had hands on to the wine making equipment.  After the tasting was over the hospitality person suggested another winery that was only about ten minutes away.  We noted some directions and were on our way.

Our second stop was Bookcliff winery.  The tasting fee was about the same and the wines were good.  It was fun because we had the opportunity to meet the winemaker/owner John.  We purchased a few more bottles and headed down a couple of doors to yet another winery.

Through the main tasting room area looked quiet, we could see a few people working in the back, so Chris and I decided to see if by chance we could have another tasting.  There was a lady leaving with some wine as we were greeted by a busy, but friendly gentlemen.  As luck would have it, it was the owner/winemaker Michael who agreed to provide us with a tasting.  He seemed to relax and our time with him was filled with laughter and conversation about his past.  Each and every wine that we tasted was great and during the middle of the tasting, Michael offered us a barrel tasting of a Chardonnay that he was going to bottle within days.  The Chardonnay  was excellent and I decided that I had to purchase a bottle.  It was great because we were able to help Michael fill a bottle; and then he was kind enough to sign the label for us.  We left that day looking forward to a shipment of six bottles of his wine.  A couple of weeks later we received a kind message from Michael, along with an additional two extra bottles of his Decadent Saint Mulled wine; each of which will all be reviewed soon!

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Sight
Medium color depth with a brilliant gold hue.

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Smell
Moderate young-fruity aromas of melon, pear, apple, citrus and it was slight creamy.

Taste
The Chardonnay was dry, medium to full-bodied with balanced acidity.  It had soft tannins with crisp, rich mid-palate flavors and a long soft and silky finish.

abv: 14.6%

How much: $19.00

Region/appellation: Solano County and Sonoma County California.

Wine makers notes: This generous Chardonnay has received the royal treatment with  full malolactic fermentation, lees stirring for 5 months and 50% of new oak.

I rated the 2013 What We Love The Winery Chardonnay four glasses.  The chardonnay is great and the price is reasonable.  I could see this chardonnay competing against $50+ chardonnay’s.  I look forward to my next business trip and plan on seeing What We Love The Winery while I am in town.

Life is too short to drink crappy wine!

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