We picked up a California Chardonnay (blend) the other day because I realized that we hadn’t tried one in a LONG time. So we chose one more or less at random at Trader Joes, just by reading the descriptions on the labels. (We like to live in the fast lane – LOL.) Here’s a snip of the lucious text: “Opens with the intense, signature tropical fruit and citrus aromas typical of our terroir. Flavors of pineapple, fresh peach, lemon zest, and mango are augmented by good weight and perfect acidity.” Yes, just because it’s on the label doesn’t mean it’s TRUE – we know this – at least we didn’t choose it because the logo was cool – ha! (Although it was rather nice.)
So… Well… the ACIDITY was good. But otherwise, despite our best efforts, we couldn’t make out any distinct flavors. It just tasted like a basic “Chardonnay”. No peach, or zest or this or that. Yes, it was a blend, but we’ve had blends before that were more “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” rather than a homogenous mix.
Oh, well – win some, lose some! And no, we’re not mentioning any names. 😉 We just wanted to discuss the disparity between the description and the actual taste, which we haven’t actually experienced much of until now, which is, overall, a credit to the wine industry.
[Tags: white wine, chardonnay, california, wine, review]