How Mount Eden Brings Us Back
Chardonnay Wine Tastings; then and now
Perhaps 15 years ago a number of us who drink wine on a regular basis decided to do a blind tasting of the California Chardonnays. I am pretty sure we focused on Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley Chardonnays. We did this tasting over several weeks since we wanted to get a broad representation of wines, all from the same vintage.
California producing some rather mid range Chardonnay
There were some very highly rated California wines included in this Chardonnay wine tasting and some rather expensive entries as well. After the tasting, many of us reached the same conclusion: the wines were all good and on a simple 5 point scale, scored 3ish. What was striking was how similar they were. They had that big, oaky, malelactic style. And as wine people tend to do, we discussed this for some length over more bottles of Chardonnay over the ensuing months.
The California Chardonnay Conclusion
At that time, Napa and Sonoma Valley wineries, on balance, were making their wines to hit a perceived, and perhaps actual, American palate. This was an American palate that grew up on sweeter wines and loved the oak to match this taste preference.
Leaving Chardonnay
So, we went the opposite extreme. We had “ABC Tastings” as in Anything But Chardonnay. We yearned for winemakers that would let the fruit do the talking and provide less influence on the outcome. We reminded ourselves why we liked French White Burgundy so much. We also found refuge in other California wine growing areas. Central Coast, Edna Valley, St. Luis Obispo (SLO) struck that balance of tropical fruit and traditional chardonnay flavors. The wines were lively, friendly and great wines by themselves or with food.
Fast Forward, Back to California’s Mount Eden:
Tiring a bit on Sauvignon Blanc, I decided to revisit Chardonnays. I began with a bottle of Edna Valley’s 2007 Mount Eden Chardonnay from Wolff Vineyard in California. The color was slightly lime green (but then I was wearing a lime green shirt), exceptionally clear and bright. The first thing I noticed was that Edna Valley fruit. This wine had the fruit talking with some lemony citrus and lots of forward fruit; pear, spice, hint of apple. The Mount Eden Chardonnay was ripe and intense with a pleasant, long finish. Priced at only $19.00 a bottle, this is a great price for a wine this complex and accessible. I bought a few more.
Chardonnay Wine Tasting part deux
Pleasantly surprised by my delight with the Mount Eden Chard, I went to another California Chardonnay tasting. This time it was a brown bag night at my favorite wine retailer. Folks bagged up their chardonnays and we tried perhaps 10-12 Chardonnays blind. Only a couple had that big, buttery, oaky taste that I ran away from years ago. Most of them were truly lovely and worth drinking much like the Mount Eden. This made me wonder if the vineyards were changing or the wine producers had changed their style — or perhaps the American consumer had finally matured their pallet away from that sweeter preference. Either way, I’ll be tasting more California Chardonnays in the weeks and months to come, rediscovering a wine that I left many years ago. 
