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Richard Neidich Richard Neidich is offline
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Default Some older Chardonnays

El Molino and Stonyhill age very well.

10-20 years.
"cwdjrxyz" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> 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.
>
>