2003 Cooper Garrod Chardonnay, Gravel Ridge Vineyards

I picked this up in Whole Foods a few months ago. The winery must have been clearing out the remaining 2003s in anticipation of the release of the 2005s, because the next time I visited they had cases of the new vintage.

This is a typical example of a Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay; not too much oak, still enough acidity to be lively (despite being 100% malolactic) and flavours of lemon and minerals. Good value at around $15. According to wine-searcher you can still get the 2003 in a couple of places.

As an aside, one of the things that I like about Cooper Garrod is that they maintain the old Santa Cruz Mountains tradition of individually numbering the bottles. Like an artist's print, each bottle is unique in its own right.

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