WTN: BBB Does Calif Chards..(long/boring)
Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 2:04 pmOur BBB group tried last night (2/13/14) Some Calif Chards:
1. Radio-Coteau Chard SavoyVnyd/AndersonVlly (13.6%; 362 cs; U) 2009: Med.gold color; attractive melony/Chard bit
lanolin/honeyed some pencilly/butterscotchy/oak/classic R-C lovely nose; fairly tart ripe/melony/Chard some
pencilly/oak/butterscotchy flavor; very long pencilly/oak/butterscotchy ripe/spicy/melony/Chard finish; a svelte/
bright/attractive Chard w/ classic R-C/understated oak. $36.00
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2. BedrockWineCo Chard BrosseauVnyd/Chalone (13.1%; 30 yr old own-rooted vines; 25% new Fr.oak for 18 mo;
4 brls) 2010: Med.gold color; rather honeyed/pineapply/ripe/melony/Chard bit herbal/spicy some earthy/dusty
nose; soft fairly rich/lush quite honeyed/ripe/melony/Chard/pineapply rather oaked/butterscotchy/caramel flavor;
long rather honeyed/pineapply/melony/Chard/graham cracker some oak/butterscotch/caramel finish; some like the
old Ravenswood Sangiacomo Chards w/o the reductive stink. $27.00
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3. Peay Chard SonomaCoast (13.7%) 2009: Med.dark color; rich/lush butterscotchy/toasty/Fr.oak bit earthy/clunky
honeyed/ripe/melony/Chard bit simple nose; tart/tangy rich/ripe/honeyed/melony/Chard slight earthy rather toasty/
butterscotchy/Fr.oak flavor; med.long strong butterscotchy/toasty/Fr.oak tart/tangy rich/ripe/melony/Chard finish;
a bit on the simple/clunky side and overpriced for what it is. $40.00
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4. Peay Chard Estate/SonomaCoast (13.8%; 525 cs) 2009: Med.gold color; very perfumed/aromatic strong melony/Chard/
spicy rather mineral/chalky some appley/apple pie/nutmeg quite spicy bit toasty/pencilly/oak complex nose; rather
tart some pencilly/toasty/oak strong melony/Chard/appley/spicy rather minerally/chalky/stony flavor; long light
pencilly/toasty/oak strong melony/Chard/green apple/apple pie rather stony/mineral/chalky very spicy balanced
finish; a very spicy Chard w/ lovely aromatics. $52.00
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5. Peay Chard HirschVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.3%) 2009: Med.dark gold color; bit oxidized/aged/nutty ripe/melony/Chard/
herbal strong toasty/butterscotchy nose; tart bit oxidized/nutty some ripe/melony/Chard strong toasty/butterscotchy
flavor; med. strong/toasty/butterscotchy/oak fairly ripe/melony/Chard tart bit nutty/oxidized/aged finish; a bit
on the oafish side and seems prematurely old for its age. $60.00
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6. Failla Chard SonomaCoast (14.2%; 400 cs; www.FaillaWines.com) 2009: Med.light gold color; lovely earthy/dusty
light smokey/toasty/pencilly/oak strong appley/melony/Chard/very spicy quite aromatic bit complex nose; tart
beautiful aromatic/perfumed very spicy/melony/tropical fruit/ripe/Chard light pencilly/toasty/oak/nutmeg flavor;
very long/lingering melony/tropical fruit/Chard/ripe/very spicy light pencilly/nutmeg/oak finish; a very lovely
Chard w/ lots of spicy/aromatic character; my favorite of these Chards; very good price at $38.50
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7. Donkey&Goat Chard Untended/AndersonVlly (12.7%; U; Fukuoka farmed; www.DonkeyAndGoat.com) 2010: Med.gold color;
bit funky/earthy slighht phenolic/resiny/cidery light appley/melony/Chard some toasty/oak complex nose; quite
tart/austere bit resinous/phenolic/cidery very slight Chard/appley some funky/earthy flavor w/ a bit of tannic
bite; very long very tart/appley/underripe/melony/Chard slight toasty/oak some phenolic/cidery finish; a rather
strange Chard that seemsto have been made w/ some skin contact. $32.00
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8. Donkey&Goat Chard BrosseauVnyd/Chalone (14.1%; U; Last harvest) 2010: Med.gold color; slight earthy/funky very
strong melony/ripe/Chard/tropical fruit some dusty/stony rather perfumed/perfumed talc quite aromatic complex
nose; bit tart/lean/austere strong appley/melony/Chard/quite spicy/apple pie light toasty/oak bit earthy/stony
flavor; med.long very tart/austere/lean strong appley/apple pie/melony/Chard/very spicy like toasty/oak bit
earthy/dusty/chalky finish; needs some age yet; rather hard on the palate but very nice aromatics. $29.45
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9. OjaiVnyd Chard ClosPepeVnyd/StaRitaHills (14.0%) 2008: Med.dark gold color; slightly oxidized/nutty light
melony/Chard/appley some toasty/oak rather aged nose; soft bit oxidized/nutty strong toasty/smokey/oak light
ripe/melony/Chard slight earthy flavor; med.long soft rather toasty/oak/smokey bit nutty/oxidized light/ripe/
melony/Chard finish; rather clunky and seems much older than it should be. $30.00
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10. OjaiVnyd Chard BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (13.5%) 2009: Light gold color; very strong melony/Chard/lemony/
quite appley/spicy slight reductive/skunky (that clears) light pencilly/toasty/oak some floral/carnations/Viog-
like rather perfumed/aromatic nose; rather tart slight reduced/pungent/skunky ripe/melony/Chard/pineapply/appley
light pencilly/smokey/oak some floral/carnations/pear/Viog-like slight earthy/dusty flavor; very long light
pencilly/smokey/oak strong ripe/melony/appley/Chard bit floral/Viog-like/pear finish; a fairly rich lovely/
interesting Chard. $28.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. At our BacchusBadBoys group, Chards have pretty much been off the radar over the yrs. So I thought I'd put
together a set of my favorite Chards to try. They seemed to be well-received.
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2. Both the Peay/Hirsch and the Ojai/ClosPepe seemed much more aged than I would expect them to be. Not bad wines,
but older than I thought they should be. There's been a lot of problems w/ PreMOxed White Burgs, but I don't
drink enough of those to have encountered one. So I don't know if Pre-Mox has been creeping into Calif Chards
or these two btls were just anomalies.
Tom
1. Radio-Coteau Chard SavoyVnyd/AndersonVlly (13.6%; 362 cs; U) 2009: Med.gold color; attractive melony/Chard bit
lanolin/honeyed some pencilly/butterscotchy/oak/classic R-C lovely nose; fairly tart ripe/melony/Chard some
pencilly/oak/butterscotchy flavor; very long pencilly/oak/butterscotchy ripe/spicy/melony/Chard finish; a svelte/
bright/attractive Chard w/ classic R-C/understated oak. $36.00
___________________
2. BedrockWineCo Chard BrosseauVnyd/Chalone (13.1%; 30 yr old own-rooted vines; 25% new Fr.oak for 18 mo;
4 brls) 2010: Med.gold color; rather honeyed/pineapply/ripe/melony/Chard bit herbal/spicy some earthy/dusty
nose; soft fairly rich/lush quite honeyed/ripe/melony/Chard/pineapply rather oaked/butterscotchy/caramel flavor;
long rather honeyed/pineapply/melony/Chard/graham cracker some oak/butterscotch/caramel finish; some like the
old Ravenswood Sangiacomo Chards w/o the reductive stink. $27.00
___________________
3. Peay Chard SonomaCoast (13.7%) 2009: Med.dark color; rich/lush butterscotchy/toasty/Fr.oak bit earthy/clunky
honeyed/ripe/melony/Chard bit simple nose; tart/tangy rich/ripe/honeyed/melony/Chard slight earthy rather toasty/
butterscotchy/Fr.oak flavor; med.long strong butterscotchy/toasty/Fr.oak tart/tangy rich/ripe/melony/Chard finish;
a bit on the simple/clunky side and overpriced for what it is. $40.00
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4. Peay Chard Estate/SonomaCoast (13.8%; 525 cs) 2009: Med.gold color; very perfumed/aromatic strong melony/Chard/
spicy rather mineral/chalky some appley/apple pie/nutmeg quite spicy bit toasty/pencilly/oak complex nose; rather
tart some pencilly/toasty/oak strong melony/Chard/appley/spicy rather minerally/chalky/stony flavor; long light
pencilly/toasty/oak strong melony/Chard/green apple/apple pie rather stony/mineral/chalky very spicy balanced
finish; a very spicy Chard w/ lovely aromatics. $52.00
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5. Peay Chard HirschVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.3%) 2009: Med.dark gold color; bit oxidized/aged/nutty ripe/melony/Chard/
herbal strong toasty/butterscotchy nose; tart bit oxidized/nutty some ripe/melony/Chard strong toasty/butterscotchy
flavor; med. strong/toasty/butterscotchy/oak fairly ripe/melony/Chard tart bit nutty/oxidized/aged finish; a bit
on the oafish side and seems prematurely old for its age. $60.00
___________________
6. Failla Chard SonomaCoast (14.2%; 400 cs; www.FaillaWines.com) 2009: Med.light gold color; lovely earthy/dusty
light smokey/toasty/pencilly/oak strong appley/melony/Chard/very spicy quite aromatic bit complex nose; tart
beautiful aromatic/perfumed very spicy/melony/tropical fruit/ripe/Chard light pencilly/toasty/oak/nutmeg flavor;
very long/lingering melony/tropical fruit/Chard/ripe/very spicy light pencilly/nutmeg/oak finish; a very lovely
Chard w/ lots of spicy/aromatic character; my favorite of these Chards; very good price at $38.50
___________________
7. Donkey&Goat Chard Untended/AndersonVlly (12.7%; U; Fukuoka farmed; www.DonkeyAndGoat.com) 2010: Med.gold color;
bit funky/earthy slighht phenolic/resiny/cidery light appley/melony/Chard some toasty/oak complex nose; quite
tart/austere bit resinous/phenolic/cidery very slight Chard/appley some funky/earthy flavor w/ a bit of tannic
bite; very long very tart/appley/underripe/melony/Chard slight toasty/oak some phenolic/cidery finish; a rather
strange Chard that seemsto have been made w/ some skin contact. $32.00
___________________
8. Donkey&Goat Chard BrosseauVnyd/Chalone (14.1%; U; Last harvest) 2010: Med.gold color; slight earthy/funky very
strong melony/ripe/Chard/tropical fruit some dusty/stony rather perfumed/perfumed talc quite aromatic complex
nose; bit tart/lean/austere strong appley/melony/Chard/quite spicy/apple pie light toasty/oak bit earthy/stony
flavor; med.long very tart/austere/lean strong appley/apple pie/melony/Chard/very spicy like toasty/oak bit
earthy/dusty/chalky finish; needs some age yet; rather hard on the palate but very nice aromatics. $29.45
___________________
9. OjaiVnyd Chard ClosPepeVnyd/StaRitaHills (14.0%) 2008: Med.dark gold color; slightly oxidized/nutty light
melony/Chard/appley some toasty/oak rather aged nose; soft bit oxidized/nutty strong toasty/smokey/oak light
ripe/melony/Chard slight earthy flavor; med.long soft rather toasty/oak/smokey bit nutty/oxidized light/ripe/
melony/Chard finish; rather clunky and seems much older than it should be. $30.00
___________________
10. OjaiVnyd Chard BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (13.5%) 2009: Light gold color; very strong melony/Chard/lemony/
quite appley/spicy slight reductive/skunky (that clears) light pencilly/toasty/oak some floral/carnations/Viog-
like rather perfumed/aromatic nose; rather tart slight reduced/pungent/skunky ripe/melony/Chard/pineapply/appley
light pencilly/smokey/oak some floral/carnations/pear/Viog-like slight earthy/dusty flavor; very long light
pencilly/smokey/oak strong ripe/melony/appley/Chard bit floral/Viog-like/pear finish; a fairly rich lovely/
interesting Chard. $28.00
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. At our BacchusBadBoys group, Chards have pretty much been off the radar over the yrs. So I thought I'd put
together a set of my favorite Chards to try. They seemed to be well-received.
___________________
2. Both the Peay/Hirsch and the Ojai/ClosPepe seemed much more aged than I would expect them to be. Not bad wines,
but older than I thought they should be. There's been a lot of problems w/ PreMOxed White Burgs, but I don't
drink enough of those to have encountered one. So I don't know if Pre-Mox has been creeping into Calif Chards
or these two btls were just anomalies.
Tom