Saturday, January 7, 2017

2012 Stonestreet Chardonnay Broken Road

These days I'm not able to drink wine very often. It's a great frustration. But on New Year's Eve with friends I just had to share a bottle of this Stonestreet from my lonely cellar, a Sonoma vineyard that makes some of my favorite California chardonnays and cabernets. A beautiful place to visit and taste too.

So, this wine had a wonderful nutty, caramel spice aroma that got more and more floral, I think, as it sat in the glass. The taste was refreshing even though full bodied with a nice fruit and mineral finish. 93 points.

It reminded me that good chardonnay can be nearly as complex and enjoyable as good reds. I wish I could've drunk another couple glasses but somehow I had the self-restraint not to. For those who think chardonnay is boring or passé, this bottle (among many others) would have to give them pause. Furthermore, the notion that something like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc can compete with an excellent chardonnay seems far fetched to me. With a few exceptions of course, like a great white Bordeaux, but they cost way more for the same quality level in my experience. Lesser known whites like Godello and Albarino can also provide a lot of pleasure. But time in and time out, chardonnay does the trick for me--granted, "different strokes for different folks" is true and to each his or her own, etc etc.

Parker says 93 points too: The 2012 Chardonnay Broken Road, made from Dijon clones, is the most tropical of these Chardonnays, revealing lots of pineapple, mango and a hint of bananas. A wet rock-like component provides minerality. It should drink well for 4-6 years.