"Bill Spohn" > wrote in message
...
> 1995 Eileen Hardy Chardonnay - this wine was a killer when young, but
seemed to
> age prematurely. I have one friend that really likes aged Chardonnay, so I
> pulled this out together with a backup for him. The colour of a Madeira
(and
> not a sercial!) really quite dark. The nose, which used to feature lemon
and
> vanilla, has turned to a luscious toasty caramel. In the mouth it was well
> balanced and ended with a nice mineral note. It was old, but good. We
should
> all be able to say the same thing.
>
> 1994 Mondavi Carneros Chardonnay - not as dark in colour, and the oak in
the
> nose, which used to dominate, has finally melded into a harmonious whole,
with
> toast and lemon. In mid-palate, cleaner and not quite as heavy, and the
finish
> was oddly enough quite similar to the Australian wine, with a definite
mineral
> note you don't see very often in American Chardonnay. Tasted blind, I'd
have
> said this was the younger wine.
>
> Both wine were quite pleasant, although many people would deem them over
the
> hill. It takes a special sort of person to enjoy 'mature' chards!

Hi, Bill -

When you said "Old Chards" I assumed you meant 10+ years. I've had quite a
few California Chardonnays that were just starting to get good at 5 years,
and at plateau (which isn't really flat, so I don't know why it's called
that) for another 5 or more years.

I opened my last bottle of the 1995 Joseph Swan "Wolfspierre Vineyard" a
couple of days ago. The wine was a beautiful golden hue, but the nose was
youthful and without any hint of oxidation. I could have held it for at
least several more years, but it was rich and delicious with the BBQed
salmon I paired with it.

I bought it at the winery last year. They were blowing it out at a reduced
price (~$12 US) - probably because it had thrown some sediment in the
bottle, which was due to its not having been bentonite fined. It was a
nuisance to have to settle and decant the wine, but well worth the trouble.

Tom S