If you've been following this blog recently you'll know that I'm impressed with the wine selection at Whole Foods. You'll also have noted that I enjoyed the Trout Gulch Chardonnay and was disappointed that it is no more.
I heard that Beauregard had taken over management (possibly ownership) of the vineyard, but was told that it had been renamed Pinto Valley. So I was pleasantly surprised to find a 2005 Beauregard Chardonnay from the Trout Gulch Vineyard for $25 at the Los Altos branch of Whole Foods recently. I'd gone in looking for the latest Varner releases (and found most of them - the 2006 Bee block Chardonnay is $34, the 2006 Ampitheatre is $31. No 2006 Home block, but they do have the 2005 Hidden Block Pinot at $38).
I opened it tonight, and have to say that it's a delicious wine. It's similar in both style and flavout to - and better than - the Trout Gulch version. It certainly tastes more concentrated; maybe some of that is down to vintage variation.
The initial nose shows oak and green apples which follow on to the palate; at times over the evening I also got butterscotch and apricot among other flavours. There's a subtle chalky/wet stone component to the finish, and of course there's plenty of acidity to balance it out - this is by no means a flabby butterball Chardonnay. Tremendous value, particularly given the 10% off for a mixed half case. For some reason it's not listed on the Beauregard website and I can't find it in wine-searcher, but it certainly exists.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
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2 comments:
I had a bottle of the Beuaregard 2004 on Saturday night wth Salmon, mushrooms and onions. Was beautifully paired with the entire meal.
Thanks for the comment on my wine! We are bottling the 2006 vintage next week.
Ryan Beauregard
ryan@beauregardvineyards.com
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