2007 Murphy-Goode Sonoma County Chardonnay

Murphy Is Goode

Is that the laziest pun ever, up there in the headline? I mean, It’s not Ron Washam lazy, but as far as puns go…

At any rate, Chardonnay Week continues, and with this Sonoma County offering, you get a little bit of both worlds of California chardonnay. It’s not quite all butter and toothpicks, and it’s not actually unoaked.

It’s a happy medium between the two. I could drink this with food (in fact, I did), I could cook with it (in fact, I did), and I could drink it on its own (did that too). This is right in my wheelhouse as far as good, solid, everyday-style chardonnays go. I might personally still prefer sauvignon blanc, riesling, and viognier… but sometimes chardonnay comes calling.

The Murphy-Goode is an excellent answer.

It’s a light straw yellow in the glass, but there is a hint of green here too. It’s not always easy to see (and no, I wasn’t holding the glass up to a green wall or anything) but it’s there. The nose features aromas of oak, grass, lemon zest, and rain.

Yeah, I said rain, wanna fight about it?

The wine is medium-bodied, with a light oakiness, but the wine in general is clean, crisp, and light. There’s a little of that chardonnay “butteriness” here too, but so’s some minerality, a nice wet stone minerality that cuts the butter (haw!) and keeps everything a little more light hearted.

A solid, solid addition to any chard fan’s cellar. Murphy is, after all, Goode.

Verdict: B+

2007 Murphy-Goode Sonoma County Chardonnay

2007 Murphy-Goode Sonoma County Chardonnay

2007 La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

Exactly What I Expect From Cali Chard

Sometimes, wine doesn’t surprise you at all.

Everyone knows the scene in Sideways when the oenophile protagonist, Miles, declares his disdain for Merlot. However, earlier in the film, he makes the following comment about Chardonnay:

Miles: These guys make top-notch Pinot and Chardonnay. One of the best producers in Santa Barbara county.

Jack: I thought you hated Chardonnay.

Miles: I like all varietals. I just don’t generally like the way they manipulate Chardonnay in California — too much oak and secondary malolactic fermentation.

While I’m not 100% sure that excess ML in the process is what I don’t like about Cali chardonnay, what I can easily agree with here is the sentiment: I’ll take a French Chablis any day, but the majority of the chardonnay made in California is simply not my style.

Like this one, for instance.

The 2007 La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (they make a Monterey County version, as well) is a pretty run-of-the-mill Cali chard. It’s an attractive bright golden yellow in the glass, and the nose features notes of apple, pear, and a thick butteriness.

On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, oaky, and buttery. A very “California” chardonnay. It drinks just fine if you don’t mind the occasional splinter.

Give this one a bump of a grade or two if you’re into the oaky/buttery thing. It’s not for me, though, and this here’s my wine blog, not yours, so…

Verdict: C+

2007 La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

2007 La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

2007 Leviathan

Color Me Converted

Statue of Bacchus

Ah, the “Napa Cult Wine.” The perennially-overpriced subject of scorn and ridicule the internet over. Everyone’s tired of Napa fruit and paying the Napa markup. There’s nothing new under the sun, everyone out there is overrated anyway, so forth and so on and et cetera ad nauseum.

Anyone from Napa still reading? I think all that’s horsehockey, by the way. Just wanted to get everyone on the same page.

Still, of the Napa Cult Wines I’ve had, the 2007 Leviathan is the first one to truly live up to all the hype. And what hype there is for this wine!

Some background: Leviathan is a garage wine project from husband-and-wife duo, winemaker Andy Erickson (Screaming Eagle, Staglin, Hartwell, Favia, Ovid, Dancing Hares, Jonata, Dalla Valle, Arietta) and viticulturalist Anie Favia (Screaming Eagle, Favia, and Abreu). Erickson has an MS in Enology from UC Davis, and cut his teeth in the 1990s at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars.

The Napa pedigree on these two is second-to-none. So what about the wine?

40% cabernet franc, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 16% syrah, and 14% merlot, all Napa juice. It’s maybe the best red blend I’ve had. Ever.

In the glass, the wine is gorgeous, with a brilliant garnet core and only slightly lighter ruby edges. On the nose is some really awesome fruit, like blackcurrant, raspberry, and ripe red cherry, but it’s all muted and held in check by a bit of nutmeg and allspice.

This is as full-bodied as wine gets, without getting sickly sweet and syrupy like dessert wine. The tannins are soft and lush, and everything here is in such balance, that I didn’t notice any of the heat. And at 14.5%, I was expecting it. Blackberry and raspberry are the main notes on the palate, and the wine does remain fantasically fruity.

If you’re an anti-flavor fascist, you won’t care for this wine. But if you still love juice for being juice (even if only sometimes) then you need to try this. It isn’t even that expensive, available for $40–$50 from numerous online retailers. Sure, that’s no drop in the bucket, but this isn’t an “everyday” drinker. The tannins and balance lead me to believe you could easily get 5+ years of aging out of it if you wanted, but it tastes so fucking good right now, I wouldn’t bother.

I’m a convert to the cult of Leviathan. This is crazy, silly good juice.

Verdict: 97/100

(photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamjodh/ / CC BY 2.0)