On Nov 9, 7:38 am, "Jim Mehl" > wrote:
> Chateau Garage pressed our 2007 Napa Rutherford Cabernet this week.
> While doing so, one of our group decided to do a little cellar cleaning.
> We opened a 1979 and 1980 Kistler Chardonnay and a 1979
> Chateau Montelena Chardonnay. Both of the Kistlers were pretty
> much undrinkable. It wasn't so much the oxidation, but a total lack
> of fruit and a "chemical" character. The Chateau Montelena was rather
> nice. Definitely older, but still good Chardonnay fruit and a LOT of
> complexity. I think I will have to put Chateau Montelena up there with
> Stony Hill as a California Chardonnay that ages well.

There is no reason why a Chardonnay can not be made to age well for up
to at least a few decades, but most made in the US and Europe do not.
>From selected locations with best growing and wine making technique,
It is not unusual for a Montrachet, top Chablis, etc to age well for
several decades. In California, I have found few that age well over a
decade on a regular basis. The top reserves of Au Bon Climat usually
do, and most of the few bottles of their reserves I have from 1989 -
1993 still are holding very well. These wines tend to be rather sharp
when young and need several years at least before they are good
drinking. Mount Eden Estate also often ages well for over a decade,
but there have been several exceptions. When it does age right, it can
be near the top.

Stony Hill made some Chardonnay that was outstanding and aged very
well in the distant past. I am not sure about more recent vintages. I
had both their estate 1991 and 1992. The quality of these was not so
good in my opinion, and they did not age very well. They were far
inferior to the Au Bon Climat reserves at over a decade old. Of course
it is possible that the bottles I had of the Stony Hill, bought at the
same time, had heat damage or some other storage problem before I
bought them.

I have aged quite a few Napa CSs for a long time with often good
results. However, I have not bought any Napa Chardonnay for long aging
in many years. I am sure there are a few exceptions. Of course most
wine, red or white, gets consumed before it is a decade old these
days, So I doubt if many wine makers worry much about how their wines
will age for several decades, especially if the wine is sharp and not
very good to drink when still young.