Bighorn Cellars was founded by Bill Hill in the 1970's and his mission is to produce wines from exceptional vineyards in the best growing regions for each varietal. The Chardonnay is therefor grown in Carneros while other varietals are grown in other areas. Pinot Noir for example is grown in Willamette Valley and Sonoma Coast. The 2004 Los Carneros Camelback Vineyard was barrel fermented in 100%, 1 to 2 year old, French Oak. After that allowed to go through secondary malolactic fermentation. Then bottled without filtration and aged in the bottle until release.
It has a golden, light straw color in the glass. Initially on the nose, buttery oak overshadows everything else, but letting it sit in the glass for 5 minutes very different aromas appear. This time soft floral and citrus steps in with the oak and leaves a more balanced impression. Tasting the wine, ripe apple and pear, with citrus and some tropical fruit shows up. The mouth feel is round and soft with creamy oak that doesn't step over the line to become buttery. Moderate acidity brings it all together leaving you with a creaminess that still has a freshness to it.
I had this wine with Poached Salmon, Sauteed Spinach and Orzo in a Basil Sauce. It made a great pairing.
Enjoying this chardonnay I would not hesitate to pay $19.99 for it again at my local BevMo. If you want a better deal you can find it online at Wine-Searcher.com from $16.10. A good price for a nice chardonnay.
Vote for my blog here and help me stay in top 10 on The Blog Top!
I have finally reached top 10 and I am now striving to reach top 5!
No comments:
Post a Comment