Monday, May 7, 2007

2004 Willamette Valley Vineyards Chardonnay 'Dijon Clone'

Opened this wine Sunday night and paired it with pan seared wild pink salmon and a side dish of roasted baby red potato mixed with onion and mushroom. Even though the producer's fact sheet does not list neither fish nor potato as suggested food match, this wine does go surprisingly well with this type of salmon and potato (maybe because both dishes are well coated with oil).

With 14.5 % alcohol and less than 0.2% residual sugar, this chardonnay is definetely not a sipping wine that you serve at a casual cocktail party. It does beg for food.

Price: $16 from the winery.

Tasting notes:

Nose: Oak, vanilla and straw (my wife even noticed a hint of damp leaves)

Palate: Oak and vanilla nose follows through in the mouth. When wine warms up, citrus and strawberry flavor start to announce their presence.

Body: Medium and smooth.

Finish: Clean. Vanilla, hint of spice and a slighty bitter.

Comment: This is not the most interesting Chardonnay you can buy for $16. But at this price point, you can do far worse. It is at least varietally correct and has enough acidity to keep it from being flabby and boring.

Drank this wine in the course of 2 days. On the second day, it is slightly bigger and rounder.

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