SimianFox's Full Review: Carmel Road Chardonnay Arroyo Seco 2006 750ml
After tasting the 2006 Carmel Road Chardonnay this weekend, I can honestly say that I am both impressed and intrigued by this producer. My first acquaintance with Carmel Road Winery located in Monterey, CA and named for the small town of Carmel, CA – beautiful California coastal town, was during a short tasting session at Wine House in Santa Monica. I had tasted the Carmel Road 2005 Pinot Noir, which I found to be impressive – ripe, fruity, moderate tannins, and superb finish – for a very reasonable $22.00. After coming across the Chardonnay at a wine store here in LA, if figured why not give the Chardonnay a chance as well?
To give you bit of perspective, the Arroyo Seco region is found in the Santa Cruz mountains in Northern California. A region known for producing good quality Pinot Noir, but kind of a hidden gem from the perspective that most wine tourists head to Napa and Sonoma while completely bypassing the lesser known, but excellent wineries in this region.
I was amazed at how brave, well-balanced, and luscious this Chardonnay was. Displaying hints of pear, green apple, and citrus, the CR Chardonnay fills your mouth with bright fruit, while retaining a creamy texture throughout. The finish is superb and long with a slight, ephemeral butter taste with hints of vanilla (yet so light it may even go unnoticed for some). Needless to say I enjoyed this wine very much and believe it’s best qualities are found in its unyieldingly fresh fruit and citrus flavors, crisp and bright acids, and its mildly buttery finish. The wine maker must have aged this Chardonnay in quality French Oak barrels to achieve the superb finish. This brings up my only qualm with this wine is that it lacks oak, which I know many white wine drinkers love – however, I myself do not like overly oaky wines and tend to stay as far away from these as possible because I feel that too much oak will almost certainly overpower the fruit and subtle flavors in white wine.
In summary, the 2006 Carmel Road Chardonnay was a delicious surprise and a good value at $14.99. I’m sure that some will balk at paying that much for a white wine, but I assure you that this is worth the extra few dollars. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find as good a quality Chardonnay or White Burgundy at this price point.
92 Points
Recommended:
Yes
Year: Earlier Winery Name: Carmel Road Winery Varietal: Chardonnay Country: USA State or Region: California County or Appellation: Arroyo Seco Price: 14.99
Wine Rating Scale: Better than most
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