[ad_1]
It’s necessary to confess while you have been mistaken. And many people harbor all kinds of misconceptions about Chardonnay—notably Chardonnay from Napa, California. Ask a room of wine professionals to characterize Napa Chardonnay. They’ll doubtless describe closely oaked wines that odor and style virtually equivalent to buttered popcorn. That’s as a result of, for years, sure winemakers from the area made Chardonnays that leaned extra towards vanilla-scented opulence than, say, crisp Chablis. Their wealthy model has loads of followers in addition to vocal detractors, a few of whom really feel so strongly that they solid a motion known as ABC, or “something however Chardonnay.”
And but, there’s extra to Napa Chardonnay than one-note butter bombs. For example, earlier this week, I fortunately sipped Eleven Eleven’s 2021 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay. Produced from dry-farmed, organically grown fruit, the wine is aged fully in French oak barrels for 14 months earlier than it’s bottled. Twenty % of these vessels are new oak. This would possibly give skeptics pause since getting older a wine in new wooden may give it baking-aisle-adjacent flavors.
Fortunately, this Chardonnay isn’t overpowered by any of the model markers that fireplace up the ABC crowd. As an alternative, it’s pleasantly spherical, with juicy stone fruit flavors and lemony acidity on the end. “The pendulum has swung. And an increasing number of of our visitors are having fun with this form of Chardonnay,” mentioned Bradley Ward, the hospitality supervisor and property ambassador for Eleven Eleven.
I can see why. Eleven Eleven’s 2021 Chardonnay is vivid and balanced, and simply the factor I’d need to pair with one in every of my favourite meals: grilled cheese made with kimchi and sharp cheddar. Is it as tart because the racy Loire Valley Chenins or Alsatian Rieslings that I sometimes order at wine bars again residence in New York? No, after all not. But it surely’s an thrilling choice from a area and selection hardly ever related to restraint, and a cheerful reminder that being mistaken may be actually nice. $60, store.elevenelevenwines.com
[ad_2]
Source link
