When you’re always looking for the next big thing, the new hip wine, it’s easy to forget your old friends. It’s probably been several years since I’ve tasted Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Chardonnay from the Columbia Valley of Washington state. I typically pass by it in the stores, because it is everywhere and I’m looking for something surprising.
Well, this 2007 release of an old standby surprised me with its balance, depth and quality, and left me chastened with the thought that I should never take familiar labels for granted.
The wine shows appealing herbal aromas – rosemary? sage? – that are somewhat unexpected for a chardonnay, especially an inexpensive one. It’s soft texture in the mouth yields to lemon cream and apple fruit, tinged with aromatic wood spice. This wine is a great value.
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