The single-varietal 2020 Chardonnay is made entirely from Carneros Sonoma fruit. Baked apples, spicy pears, and honeydew melon jump from the glass with wafts of honeycomb and allspice. The medium to full-bodied palate has a creamy texture and is chock full of baked apples and pears layers, finishing with a lively lift.
Chateau Buena Vista Chardonnay Reviews
The 2021 Chateau Buena Vista Chardonnay springs from the glass with fantastically spicy scents of nutmeg and candied ginger, giving way to a core of peach preserves, apple butter, and warm pineapple plus a waft of butterscotch. The medium to full-bodied palate has a decadent oiliness to the texture, with a lively line giving energy to the long, spicy finish.
Spicy oak and good fruit concentration are the hallmarks of this full-bodied, almond and honey-scented wine that charms you with its restraint and rather mature-tasting complexity. A lingering finish suggests sipping after the meal as well as during.
Spice, balance and a long finish
This is the first vintage of this new label by Buena Vista, commemorating the year it was founded. The 2018 Red Wine 1857 is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc. The Cabernet Sauvignon is from the Morris vineyard on Diamond Mountain, the Petit Verdot was harvested from the Larkmead vineyard in Calistoga, and the Cabernet Franc is from the Casa Nuestra vineyard in St. Helena. It was aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, 45% new. Very deep purple-black colored, it slowly unfurls to reveal fantastically fragrant notes of candied violets, star anise, clove oil and chocolate mints, over a core of crème de cassis, Black Forest cake and blueberry pie with hints of pencil shavings and fallen leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is jam-packed with rich, seductive black and blue fruit layers, framed by oh-so-plush tannins and a seamless line of freshness, finishing very long and perfumed. Only 50 cases were made.
Richly fruity, with concentrated apple tart, dried peach and fig flavors that are broad and well-defined. Lemon drop accents midpalate lead to a fresh finish filled with sage cream accents. Drink now through 2024. — KM
Nutty and robust, this wine is well structured within its fleshy, oak-driven profile of full-bodied concentration and intensity. Pineapple and mango dominate with a thread of salinity peeking through the finish. -Virginie Boone