WTN: 2005 Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay Wolff Vineyard

• 2005 Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay Wolff Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley (8/31/2007)
  
  Wanted to try this bottlilng after having had the 2000 Estate a couple of weeks back, which was outstanding. This, for $15, is one very nice wine too. Good acidity, but also a hint of butterscotch from, I guessing, judicious use of oak. Fruity, but no RS... just very balanced and easy to drink. Terrific bottle of wine, moreso at the price point. (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

[Jenise]

Jim, your note caused me to search for my own re that wine. Turns out it was longer ago than I thought, so the vintage was 03 which likely turned out a fatter wine than your 05, but still our reactions re the QPR are the same.

2003 Mount Eden Vineyards "Wolff" Chardonnay, Edna Valley, CA $17
What little I knew of Mt. Eden winery made me expect a completely Californicated tropical style, and it was there but not in the way I expected. Light straw color. No pineapple or banana flavors, but still rather over-accessorized for my personal taste with buttered popcorn flavors from lightly toasted oak and full malo, yet I have to admit that for that style it was not at all over the top; actually, quite fetching and distinctive for the price.

[David M. Bueker]

QPR Cali Chard...will wonders never cease!

I've liked Mount Eden wines in the past. I don't see many of them these days, but when they show up I usually buy a bottlle or two to try. I'll be on the lookout. My recent White Burgundy experiences have taught me that not all still Chardonnay is bad.

[Jenise]

QPR Cali Chard...will wonders never cease!

Gosh, maybe like me you'll start quoting Murray Almond who once said, "I'm so over being over chardonnay!" But yeah, this is pretty good wine for the price--distinctiveness for $15? We've all been trained not to expect that, but this wine comes from 30+ year old vines.

I'm one of those who used to shy away from CA Chards because too many had a whiff of what I perceived as baby vomit. I can get past cat pee...but not baby vomit.

But I have discovered that there are makers of CA Chard who make some tasty juice, so that I'm not always turning to a Rhone varietal or a white from Spain or Argentina, as much as I like them. This Mount Eden is oaked, but it is done right, at least for my palate. It adds to the flavors and complexity rather than sticking out and saying `look at me.'

And I really enjoy Melville's Inox which, as the name implies, sees no oak, so it all about fruit and acid. Same is true for their Verna's Chard.