...last night our wine group had our annual XMas Party with our wives so 12 of us blind tasted 6 chardonnays. Low points wins.
Previous winners were not allowed - Rombauer, Butter and MacRostie.
6. 2016 Talley Arroyo Grande Valley $25 - 62pts - 5 lasts
5. 2015 Malm Cellars Reserve Sonoma $15 - 54pts - 5 lasts (tasted a little different to me - maybe it was the oak)
4. 2016 Steele Cuvee $21 - 43pts - 2 firsts, 2 lasts (I recognized this one since my wife sometimes drinks it)
3. 2015 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve $10 - 38pts (still the best for the money)
The final two wines tied for first and second which has happened before - I look at the number of firsts and lasts to decide which one should go in each place. But this time something unusual happened - they each had the same number of firsts, seconds, etc. down to fifth places among the twelve tasters.
So we had a taste-off - everyone voted for each of the two wines as number one or number two. One wine got eight firsts, the other three firsts (I didn't vote).
2. 2106 La Chertosa Reserve Sonoma $27 - 26pts - 5 firsts (3 #1 votes)
1. 2016 Sonoma Hills Santa Lucia Highlands $30 - 26pts - 5 firsts (8 #1 votes)
I suspect someone would enjoy just about any of these wines by themselves. But when you start comparing one with another, things change.
From the beginning, I put these in two groups - the last 3 and the first 3. The last 3 were easier to rank with more distinctive differences. The top 3 were very good and similar with only subtle differences between them. (I rated #3 and switched #1 and #2.)
None were particularly complex and layered - I suspect you would have to pay more than $30 to get that in a chardonnay - but the top three were smooth and buttery with nice fruit (pear) flavors.
