On Jul 15, 2:48*pm, Joseph Coulter > wrote:
> Took a client to dinner last night and because I am so nice (and he is a
> good client hence the dinner), let him choose the wine. We were all
> having fish dishes so we went with a Chardonnay. I knew in advance that
> he would order California just as anyone who knows me would know that I
> would go French (especialy on Bastille Day!) unless I succumbed to my
> desire for a NZ SB for my Scallops. At any rate I did let him know that
> I was oak averse and he felt that under the circumstances Cakebread
> would be "always a safe bet". I was *impressed that it was not overly
> oaked, but felt that it lacked the acidity and zip that I was hoping
> for, no lemon or minerality to this wine. (Yes I should have ordered the
> Chablis and let chips fall . . . ) I was also a bit put off by the soft
> buttery feel (despite the vinters notes that say
>
> only a fraction of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation, to
> preserve its fresh, vibrant fruit character, while 100% aged eight
> months on the yeast lees in barrel, with periodic stirring, to promote
> even greater richness and complexity
>
> All in all I was whelmed at best. B, it was good but . . . This one
> doesn't go home to show mom.

It was interesting to read your notes about the Cakebread Chardonnay.
Cakebread has been around a long time, and the best remember, I last
had their Chardonnay in the mid 1970s. Anyway, it was a long time ago.
Back then the wine was somewhat in the middle of the road for the
time, but many Chardonnays then were very large and had much oak and
alcohol. David Bruce made one of the monster types of Chardonnay back
then.