The Robert Young Vineyard is located in Alexander Valley, and planted to the Chardonnay clone of the same name, the original plantings were of the Wente clone. Over time Robert selected vines that produced exceptional fruit in the soils of this site, and his clone 17 was certified in 1989.
This wine is barrel fermented, and aged sur lie (on yeast and sediment) for an extended period of time. This technique gives the wine a creamy mouth texture, the barrels are French oak, about 60% new .... so the oak influence is there but not too heavy for my taste. The wine is also aged in the bottle for a year before being released, so this is a true reserve wine.
The nose has notes of lemon and pear, there's a spice note I can't quite identify but fits in nicely with the other scents. The palate matches the lemon and pear notes, has a nice creamy texture and finishes smooth with perfect balanced acidity. The color is a beautiful yellow with a greenish tint, and there's a nice lingering note of the fruit that fades pleasantly...
I enjoyed this with the Tortelloni Brunelle dish from Lui-Lui's, which has a lemon caper sauce. I think some grilled lemon/lime garlic shrimp would also be good with this wine. Another option would be a veal or chicken schnitzel finished with a wedge of lemon and buttered spatzle or french fries....
Available at the winery for $50.00 per bottle, or at the NH Liquor outlets in the power buy section for $15.99! If you enjoy a good Chardonnay get in to one of the outlets and grab a bottle or two before they're gone... I think once people figure out what a steal this is they'll fly off the shelf.
Cheers!
Ed
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