The Vintage Wine Tasters met this past Wednesday for their bi-monthly blind wine tasting to taste and judge six Chardonnay wines priced under $20. Our host Ray decided to mix things up a little so he purchased three oaked Chardonnays and three unoaked Chardonnay wines. As per usual, the wines were bagged and scored using a unique 25-point scoring system. There were four wines from California one from Australia, and one from France.
The results:
First Place
Four Vines “Naked” Chardonnay Paso Robles 2008 – $12.99 – Bev Mo
Second Place
Markham Chardonnay Napa Valley Estate Grown 2008 – $11.99 — Trader Joe’s
Third Place
La Crema Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2007 — BevMo & Trader Joe’s – $15.99
Fourth Place
Toad Hollow Unoaked Chardonnay Mendocino County 2008 BevMo – $12.99
Fifth Place
Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay New Zealand 2008 BevMo – $16.99
Sixth Place
Louis Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay France 2008 – Safeway $15.99
There were two very interesting facts about this taste-off. Very few points separated all the wines, it was the closest ranking yet of our tasting sessions. It was also the lowest point total we have given any set of wines. There was no clear-cut winner or a wine that we could recommend as a bargain or value. All of us agreed that the wines were all very similar in taste and character even though we had oaked vs. unoaked wines in the set. Well, I guess we will have to keep looking for that delicious bottle of Chardonnay for under $20.