VJB Vineyards & Cellars 2007 Gabriella Ranch Chardonnay

I had an opportunity to stop at the VJB Vineyards & Cellars winery on a business trip this past February 2009. Hey--there's only so many hours in the day for work! I was glad I did because 6 bottles of their wine followed me home. I popped in on a fairly slow Saturday morning and had a chance to talk with the pourer. This is a fairly new winery, having been started in 1999. The Belmonte family had been running a restaurant in the Kenwood area, and the sons, Victor & Henry, decided to start making their own wine to serve in the restaurant. Victor passed away shortly after the winery was started, so it was renamed as VJB in his honor. Ten years later, it is still a smallish operation with only 4000 cases of annual production. When I was there, they had just gotten the permits to start construction of a new larger wine production & tasting facility next door.

VJB Vineyards & Cellars 2007 Chardonnay
Country of origin: USA
Region: California
Appellation: Sonoma County
Stats: 13.5% ABV, dry, stainless steel fermentation.
Cost: $18 at the winery

Appearance: Crystal clear, light straw yellow, good leg structure
Aroma: Initial aromas of pears and white peaches, with a light pineapple finish at the end.
Taste: Clean & crisp. Muted fruit flavors of pears, melons, white peaches, & apricots. Slight butteriness & minerality on the finish.

Since summer has finally hit the Boston area, I thought this would be a good summer wine for dinner last night--and I was correct. The grapes from this wine were sourced Sonoma County and fermented in 100% stainless steel to produce a European style wine with clean, crisp fruit flavors. I've been trying to decide if a malo-lactic fermentation was performed, and I think so (rounded mouthfeel & slight buttery notes), but this is not your massive over-oaked, buttery chardonnay that used to dominate the California chardonnay scene. Very delightful wine that paired well with grilled BBQ chicken & brocolli last night.

Salute,
a Wine Student