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+--- Thread: TN: '97 Maryland Chardonnay (/thread-14146.html)
- Van The Man - 08-15-1999
1997 Elk Run Chardonnay; Maryland (MD) - $11.99
One of the great benefits of my job is that I get to see and enjoy most of the
eastern seaboard. And I get the chance to meet and see many friends and family.
I had the opportunity to see some friends who built a beautiful new home on the
Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Their new home is on an island and while visiting,
we had the opportunity to stop into a local wine shop. I picked this bottle up,
with conservative expectations and was pleasantly surprised…..
Lemon-yellow, maybe a bit pale in color. Nice, ripe nose of apple, pear, some
cream and a touch of citrus. On the palate, lighter in style than a California
but the wine has ripe fruit and enough of it to work well with most shellfish
and lighter seafood dishes. Finished nicely with a pleasant and relatively long
aftertaste of cream and vanilla. At this price point, this wine is an attractive
alternative and one I would buy again. The web site, www.elkrun.com says the
grapes are sourced from Maryland and Virginia. And for what it's worth, this
wine would work better with local food than almost any California Chardonnay.
- Bucko - 08-15-1999
If the East Coast Chards catch up with the Rieslings, they may be outclassing CA. I don't know about all of that cream and vanilla though.....
Bucko
- Van The Man - 08-16-1999
Bucko -
As I referred to "vanilla and cream," you were thinking heavy California! But that's not the case here. This wine was lighter in style, the opposite of California and those components were in check and balanced.
ML will yield those components. And there's nothing wrong with 100% ML provided the acids and the weight of the fruit was right in the first place.
When you get a premier cru white Burg, these wines are more often than not put through a 100% ML and dressed up in oak. The difference is that with a cooler climate, they have the malic acid to balance this out. The California chards never had a chance 'cause the acids were gone in the first place.
So when you get one of these beauties, it's a nice deal!