Tasting- Edna Valley Chardonnay

 

Name: Edna Valley Chardonnay 2021

Variety: 100% Chardonnay

Region: San Luis Obispo, California

Country: United States

Year: 2021

Price: $12.99

Wine Review: "Ripe banana, plumeria, and coconut aromas make for a very tropical entry to the nose of this wine. Pear, peach jam, and apple sauce flavors play on the soft palate" --(Matt Kettman, 2022) -- 86

Wine Folly: On page 96, Chardonnay is described as having flavorings of yellow apple, star fruit, pineapple, vanilla and butter. I personally could absolutely taste the lightly tangy sweetness of the pineapple with the sweet highlights of vanilla and apple was definitely present as well. This particular chardonnay however, was really not that buttery all things considered. On page 288, wine folly doubles down on CA Chardonnay having flavors of pineapple, vanilla and yellow apple, but also adds crème brulee and caramel to the mix. I do think though that these extra sweeteners were a bit excessive for this specific wine as while it was sweet, caramel and crème brulee were not that present, at least for me. Instead, light fruity, tropical sweetness was the most prominent and carried the wine.

My Review: I did like it, but it wasn't my favorite Chardonay and actually left me a little disappointed. My previous Chardonnay was a cheap, but nice tasting wine with light, rich fruit flavorings and a buttery finish that created a phenomenal mouthfeel. This wine however, was privy to sweet fruit rather than anything else. It tasted very sweet, like that of apple, or peach, or mango with a tropical whisper to it. I even thought I felt a taste of strawberry in there, and what tasted almost like chocolate. As a result of this, the wine was sweet, fruity, but had not very much balance. The tannins and acidity were not particularly present whatsoever. Even while drinking, it was a half glass satisfaction type taste, rather than something where I would immediately want another glass after finishing like many of the wines I have had in the past. Once again, it was by no mean bad, but at least for me, it wore out its welcome quite quickly. I am definitely going to need to pick up Chardonnay from a different region next time I inevitably want to pick up a bottle.

This was not tasted with any food.