DATE CONSUMED
Sunday, January 27, 2013
VINTAGE
2008
WINERY/PRODUCER
Lynmar Estate
WINE NAME
La Sereinite
TYPE OF WINE
White
COMPOSITION
100% Chardonnay
SUBNAME/NICKNAME
Proprietary Cuvee
VINEYARD DESIGNATION
58% Sweeney, 21% Lazy W, and 21% Mill Station (all in the
RRV)
REGION/A.V.A. (American Viticultural Area)
Russian River Valley, California
ALCOHOL CONTENT
14.1%
PRICE PAID
$63 (10% wine club discount off of the full retail price of
$70)
WHERE/WHEN BOUGHT AND/OR HOW PROCURED
We received this bottle in June, 2010 from Lynmar’s wine
club
BOUQUET
On Lynmar’s website, they describe this Chardonnay as being
very Chablis-like (the above listed vineyards are in some of the cooler regions
of the RRV) and based on the chalky, flinty, citrusy bouquet, I believe it! This is one of the earthiest California
Chardonnay’s I’ve ever sampled. Most
Cali Chards are tropical fruit bombs, but this Chard appears as if it will NOT
by your grandfather’s Chardonnay.
TASTING NOTES
Sometimes a wine’s bouquet will tell you exactly what it’s
going to taste like and other times a wine’s bouquet completely and totally
fools you into what you’re about drink.
This wine’s bouquet is as honest as a Girl Scout.
Sure enough, this Chard is indeed chalky, flinty, and
citrusy, with deep, complex flavors. We
decanted this wine for about 10 to 15 minutes before drinking it with our
scallop appetizer (see below) since we cellared this wine for more than two years.
As I am want to do, I must inject my big fat mouth/opinion
on the subject of wine temperature.
Unlike 99% of the world’s restaurants, I strongly and vehemently believe
in properly serving wines at optimal temperatures, which in the case of a quality
Chardonnay means serving it at approximately forty-five to fifty degrees,
unlike the thirty-five degrees that most restaurants serve their Chards. Decanting whites that are more than four
years old certainly helps with the temperature issue, in addition to aiding and
assisting the bouquet to truly “flower.”
This is a fantastic (though certainly not cheap) RRV Chard
(probably the best RRV Chard I’ve had in the last one to two years). In addition to the previously-mentioned
chalk, flint, and citrus elements, there’s also a wonderful mineral essence, in
addition to cream and vanilla, thanks to the wine being fermented in neutral
oak barrels. I’m also assuming this
wine was unfined and/or unfiltered since the wine has a slightly cloudy
appearance. Let me get back on my
soapbox for a moment: I LOVE unfined and unfiltered wines; I believe the fining
and filtering processes remove some of a wine’s character and
depth-of-flavors.
Looking for an elegant, delicious, beautifully well-balanced
and structured Chardonnay from the RRV?
If you can afford it, I would begin with this wine; it’s tough to beat
for a sub-$75 RRV Chardonnay.
PAIRING SUGGESTIONS
We served this wine with seared scallops in a Chardonnay,
bacon, caper, grapefruit juice, and butter sauce (my favorite scallop recipe of
the past ten years) and the pairing was fantastic! This wine would also pair well with most white fish dishes but I
think the PERFECT accompaniment for this wine is scallops.
AGING POTENTIAL
This wine is drinking gorgeously right now and thanks to its
acidity and structure it should continue to evolve and mature beautifully for
another five to ten years.
SCORE (on a 100-point scale)
93
Q.P.R. (QUALITY-TO-PRICE RATIO) (POOR, FAIR, GOOD,
EXCELLENT)
FAIR (I LOVE this Chardonnay, but at $70+ with sales tax and
shipping, it isn’t cheap)
WINERY WEBSITE
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