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May 11, 2009
WINE FIND
by Michael Dresser
So many chardonnays, so few with any real finesse. In a market awash with chardo-mediocrity, Saintsbury has delivered a truly elegant, balanced yet penetrating chardonnay with real depth and complexity.
As with most of the best chardonnays, no single flavor stands out and the oak influence is restrained. Saintsbury scores extra points for making the move to screw caps.
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March 20, 2009
Ten Great Unfiltered, Unfined Wines to Try
by Kim Donaldson
If you spend time in good wine shops, you’ve undoubtedly seen the terms “unfiltered” and “unfined” on wine labels here and there. Innocuous as the terms may seem, be careful what you wish for if you ask what they mean. The subject always elicits very strong opinions from winemakers and wine-shop employees alike. Many argue that wines that have been fined or filtered have less character. But both processes are common, long-used practices that remove sediment, yeast and bacteria from wines before they’re bottled. In other words, the reason a wine looks bright and clear is often because the winery cleaned it up. But did they sacrifice the wine’s aromas and flavors in the process?
Plenty of people believe so–that looks don’t matter, only aromas and flavors do, and that fining and filtering strip them away. The proverbial jury won’t return a verdict on this anytime soon, however, so to find out which camp you fall in, you just have to try the wines for yourself and see which you prefer.
WHERE TO BEGIN
Start with chardonnay, which many wine drinkers believe is at its best when it's been fiddled with the least. If you haven't tried unfiltered chardonnays, sample the Saintsbury 2006 Carneros... As opposed to the more lush, buttery Russian River chardonnays, this one has lighter, fresh flavors of citrus and pear, with good length and a nice, crisp finish.
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February 2007
| vintage: |
2005 |
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rating: |
90 pts. |
Fairly rich and sporting a quiet suggestion of complex layering in its medium-volume aromas, this wine is smoothly textured as it enters the mouth and gives up very little of its comfortable feel as it crosses the palate. Its green apple and creamy oak flavors hold well at the end despite a late-arriving edge of coarseness as it finishes. Try it with food or give it a bit of bottle age. Either is certain to turn out well.
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January/February 2006
| vintage: |
2004 |
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rating: |
86 pts. |
Leesy, musky aromas of citrus peel and nutty oak. A bit disjointed on the palate, with fruit in the background, but with good sweetness, acid spine and grip. Slightly minty finish turned a bit oakier as the wine opened in the glass.
December 2005
| vintage: |
2004 |
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rating: |
N/A |
Best White This reliable winery continues to fine-tune its approach and seems to always find a way to leep ahead of the competition. Years ago Saintsbury stopped filtering it Chardonnay, with excellent results. Today, it has developed an approach to oak that works wonders as well. This 2004 was fermented in French oak and aged sur lie for eight months. About 30% of the barrels are new. The lees are stirred frequently and malolactic takes place in the barrels. What emerges is a Chardonnay with beautiful structure and concentration. It offers aromas of pear, citrus and hazelnuts. The flavours are vibrant, fruit-focused and persistent. It drinks well now but should come together beautifully in 3-4 years. |
September 2004
| vintage: |
2002 |
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rating: |
N/A |
Best American Chardonnay $20 and Under 2002 Saintsbury Carneros Unfiltered ($20) Richard Ward and David Graves were pioneers in California’s cool, breezy Carneros region back in 1981. They predicted that the cool, almost marginal climate was perfect for producing rich, barrel-fermented Burgundian-accented Chardonnays like this—and they were right.
May/June 2004
| vintage: |
2002 |
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rating: |
87 pts. |
Bright, light yellow. Leesy aromas of lime, caramel and vanillin oak. Firmly structured and brisk, but a bit youthfully disjointed. Today the wine’s lemony acids clash with its oak element, giving the finish a slight dry edge. I’d hold off on this wine until 2005.
December 23, 2003
| vintage: |
2002 |
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rating: |
88 pts. |
(This is a) delicious, fruit-forward offering revealing both elegance and flavor intensity. The 2002 Chardonnay Carneros is a very good value, revealing notes of tropical fruits, citrus, a candied pineapple/lime-like character, and subtle oak. Drink it over the next 1-2 years.
October 22, 2003
| vintage: |
2002 |
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rating: |
3.5 Stars |
There's delicacy to this wine.. Notes of melon and toast. Earthy. Good balance. Long, rich finish. |
May/June, 2003
| vintage: |
2001 |
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rating: |
88 pts. |
Clear pale yellow. Aromas of lemon candy, lime, butter and smoke. Concentrated, supple and ripe but dry, with very good density and structure. Tangy flavors of cintrus fruits, stone and fennel. Not especially complex, but lively, subtle and long - and not all overly oaky.
© 2006 Saintsbury
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