Here’s a quick review for a pretty simple wine. We have here the Santa Lucia Highlands Petit Reserve Chardonnay from 2010. I think this was .99 here in Washington State, but price varies from state to state. If you can’t get it in your state, I suggest you spend some time at www.freethegrapes.org to ensure that you have open borders to change the laws in your state.
Anyways, we have a California Chardonnay. I mainly picked it up because of the price and not really expecting to be blown away by it but a good solid wine at a decent price. That’s exactly what I got. This clearly was a chardonnay that had been grown in a fairly hot climate. Look at the alcohol level at 14.5%. I’m really not that partial to white wines with that much alcohol in them. Others like them that way, but that’s just me. The good thing is that there didn’t seem to be any oak on this wine, which I can’t stand, but that’s a personal preference. Along with a really ripe Chardonnay, you get that straw yellow color and there are the whole gamut of tropical fruit aromas like pineapple and papaya. When I tasted the wine the first thing that hit me was the higher alcohol levels then the tropical fruit flavors and a creamy texture. There was a decent amount of acid to balance out the tropical flavors. There was some minerality on finish, but mainly an explosion of tropical fruits. Not really my cup of tea. I like the leaner New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc they are selling right now as my every day white wine, but YMMV.
Not a bad wine for the money. If you like those really ripe Chadonnays then go for this while they still have some! I’m going to rate this one 7 bells!