“The discovery of a good wine is
increasingly better for mankind than the discovery of a new star.” – Leonardo da Vinci
If I tell people that I’m
writing another piece about Chardonnay, I can almost hear the yawn over my
internet connection. But someone is not being truthful. Chardonnay is the largest
planting in California. It was not always so.
And Chardonnay is more widely distributed worldwide than any other
variety. It’s malleable, more so I think
than any other grape. Dry, oaked, unoaked, classic in Champagne and used in
sweet wine, it’s a grape for all palates.
Making good Chardonnay is a
rite of passage for vintners, and so many offerings are delicious. But every so
often, one is offered – a particular vintage from a particular winery that goes
over the mark and is exceptional, surprising and memorable: A wine both for
summer enjoyment by itself and also enjoyable with food. One versatile, delicious bottle that travels
from the table on the deck to the table in the dining room.
My most recent experience of
this came with tasting Lynfred’s 2015 Chardonnay. Grapes are sourced from
Heringer Vineyards in Clarksburg, California and are planted specifically for
Lynfred by the vineyard. On the nose, I enjoyed expected citrus, but also a
hint of peach, pear and apricot pit.
Most inviting, however, was its clean, fresh scent. Everything about
this wine said “fresh” and was sip inviting while at the same time making a
taste at the expense of continued enjoyment of the aroma a sacrifice.
There’s a slight
caramel-butter taste in the wine that softens the citrusy acid. It’s a pleasing
push-pull of sensation enhanced by the creamy lanolin mouthfeel of the wine on
the palate. Citrus peel carries into the taste along with key lime and (most
enjoyable for me) jasmine.
I paired this wine with
numerous dishes. Lynfred suggests a Watercress, Endive & Grilled Peach
Salad (see their website for recipe). I made halibut with a butter-lemon-caper
sauce and enjoyed the wine’s acidity cutting through the sauce and cleansing
the palate. It worked equally well with shrimp burgers I made. Grilled scallops
with orange segments were fun too. A green salad with grilled chicken dressed
in a raspberry vinaigrette? No problem. The wine wasn’t put off by the
vinaigrette. Its artistry is in its versatility; chameleon like, it seems
lighter weighted when necessary and fuller bodied as needed; one wine.
No, one bottle didn’t do all
this. I so enjoyed the wine, I went back to the winery several times, and
piecemealed together a case bottle by bottle. The winery also recommends
pairing this wine with grilled trout, pork loin, stuffed mushrooms and glazed
turkey. I can see all these working very well because the wine’s strong point
is its balance. While there’s enough
acid, for sure, it’s not out front.
While the wine is aged in oak, it’s not out front. Texture is enhanced by oak, but the resulting
wine is not a vanilla one act play and there are no overdosing traces of charred
wood smoke. In fact, the wood is muted
and, I suspect, only a small percentage used is new. *
While fresh, the wine has body.
The finish is crisp and medium-length but so inviting you will want another
sip, starting again the cycle of aroma-taste confliction. I tasted Lynfred’s 2015 Chardonnay against two
well regarded Saint-Veran. Saint Veran is an AOC requiring its wine be 100%
Chardonnay and it borders its famous neighbor, Pouilly-Fuisse, in fact sharing
soil type. In the Maconnais sub-region,
these wines are white Burgundies. I enjoy many styles of Chardonnay in the
summer because the wines lend themselves
nicely against the lighter foods I seem to prefer in warm weather. And Saint
Veran, lighter in style than some famous and oakier White Burgundies from other
areas, seemed a fair comparison. In each
tasting against the two Saint-Veran (which will go unnamed), I (and my guest)
preferred the Lynfred. Fresher, clean,
with lively acidity, it presented a balance of fruit to acid that made the wine
refreshing, light and zippy but without being so acidic as to pose a hazard to
your teeth enamel, yet presenting a delicious taste of balanced fruit.
The team of Andres Basso
(Director of Winemaking) and Rodrigo Gonzalez (Head Winemaker) at Lynfred have
become a dynamic duo. Each has impressive education credentials and
international experience, but Andre previously at Concha y Toro and Rodrigo at
Casa Lapostolle bring to memory wines I’ve enjoyed that perhaps they made while
they were there. For sure, they’ve given me one with their 2015 Chardonnay.
At prices between $20 and $22
(club price differentiation), you’ll find this wine a workhorse, being able to
use it across varied terrains of cuisine.
And who am I to argue with da Vinci anyway? From my perspective, a really good bottle of
wine is perhaps more relevant to the
moment than what happened ten millennia ago in a galaxy far, far away to a
distant star. Either way, it seems the stars were aligned with this wine.
Cheers!
……………….. Jim
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TECH SPECS
·
I since learned my instinct was spot on. Only
38% of the wine was aged in wood (American) and that being with second and
third use barrels. Batonnage twice
monthly.
Variety : Chardonnay,
100%
Brix: 23
Released: July 1, 2016
Total Cases: 431
Aging: 8 months, 38% in American Oak 2nd
& 3rd Use
RS 0.1%
Alc: 13.7%
Ph: 3.43
TA: 7.8 g/L
Drinkable Thru: 3-5 years, potentially
Lynfred Winery
15 S Roselle Rd
Roselle, IL 60172
(630) 529-9463
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