Always the Georgie-come-lately, I just got my first taste of the wines of Jim and Bob Varner in the last few weeks, and found them to be pretty darned impressive.
2002 Varner Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay Neely Spring Ridge Vineyard, 14.3% alc., $35: The bright golden color of this delicious Chardonnay sets the scene for the bright, rich pear, sweet pea, canned pea and lemon flavors and aromas, complemented with just the right kiss of oak. Full bodied and well balanced, with good acids, excellent concentration and length and a rich, almost unctuous character. No fat assed, low acid, over-oaked Cal chard, this!
2002 Varner Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Home Vineyard, 14.1% alc., $39: Bright gold in color, but not nearly as intense as the Neely, not that that’s a bad thing in this case; rich apple and pear flavors and aromas shaded with a note of lime and more than a hint of “the pea thing” as it opens and warms in the glass. What starts out as some subtle, unobtrusive oak emerges with air to add some spice to the mix. Well balanced, with fine concentration, good acids and nice length. My only complaint with this otherwise tasty Chardonnay is that I’d like a little more on the nose.
2002 Varner Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Amphitheater Block2002 Varner Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Amphitheater Block, 14% alc., $31: Bright golden color, with the most “apple-like” character of these three; there’s some pear here too, but it plays a subordinate role at most. There’s some oak here as well, but it’s never obtrusive, adding a moderate note of spice, and the package is rounded out with hints of lemon, Crème Brule and some minerality that emerges with air. Medium-full to full-bodied, ripe, but not over-ripe, with the brightest acids of these three, very good concentration, density and length on the finish.
I like all three of these a lot, and find it especially interesting that these “older” vintages are available in southeastern Michigan, when the ‘05s are available elsewhere. Too bad the Bee Block is sold out here, because our colleague Brad Baker has nice things to say about that one as well. If I had to pick a favorite, I might give a slight nod to the Neely this time, for its almost unctuous nature, but on another night, it could well be a different verdict. I’m glad that we got the opportunity to try these three with a few years under their belts, because they’re all showing very well. This is one producer I’ll definitely be getting to know better.
-from A Bunch o' Whites (and One Pinky)
Reporting from Day-twah,
geo t.
