One of the challenges with the pandemic has been not having the opportunity to visit as many of the wineries as I would like. But I definitely made sure over the past couple months to get my hands on some bottles of Chardonnay from two wineries that I feel always knock it out of the park. Needless to say I wasn’t disappointed. Rosewood brought their 2017 Renaceau Chardonnay to the market from a vintage that has turned into a monster in terms of quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. While Back 10 Cellars released one of the first of the 2019 Chardonnay’s. The two vintages were vastly different – but both deliver the goods. Here are my thoughts.
2019 Back 10 Cellars Start from Scratch Chardonnay – $27.95 – **** – Barrel fermented with indigenous yeast and in Canadian Oak. This vintage of Start from Scratch is a little less exuberant than previous vintages but what it lacks in intensity it makes up for in elegance. I always stock up on a few bottles of this wine as it normally needs a bit of time to come together. This isn’t the case here – fresh peach, pear, and golden delicious apple dominate the nose and palate. Spice notes are subtle and muted on the mid palate but add a nice accent to this wonderful symphony of orchard fruit. The most accessible vintage yet – but still a buy and hold to see how it’ll evolve over the next 3-5 years.
2017 Rosewood Renaceau Vineyard Chardonnay – $25.00 – ****½ – This was fermented in a brand new French oak foudre – this oozes rich tangerine and vanilla with unbridled intensity out of the glass. The way this opens up on the palate is a cacophony of fruit – mango, pineapple, orange, and baked apple. Renaceau is always a fine Chardonnay but this may be the best to ever come from Rosewood. In terms of value this is punching way out of its weight class. This is drinking fantastic right now if you plan on enjoying it right away, but it will evolve nicely until 2027.
