Published by Jeremy.
Disclaimers: This wine or experience was provided to us for review. All opinions below are our own. We use demographic data, email opt-ins, display advertising, and affiliate links to operate this site. Please review our Terms and Conditions for more information. This website is intended for those of legal drinking age in your jurisdiction.
One of our fears with California Chardonnay is that they can often be quite oak and malolactic fermentation forward. While these have their place, we often find the intensity to be not for us.
But when we find one that has a prominent intensity that hits our tastes, we absolutely love it, and Lloyd Cellars Chardonnay from Carneros was one such bottle- oak and malo forward, but very well balanced and how we like it.
A Buttery yet Balanced Chardonnay from Lloyd Cellars
This California Chardonnay was medium lemon in color with medium(+) aromas of yellow apple, butter, toast, white blossom, pineapple, lemon, grapefruit, brioche, and jasmine.
On the palate, it was dry with medium(+) acidity, body, and flavor intensity, high alcohol, and a long finish. We had notes of lemon, yellow apple, pear, wet stone, brioche, vanilla, honeysuckle, caramel, butter, butterscotch, pineapple, and grapefruit.
Within our first scent of this one, we admit we were worried that it would be a bit too oaky and buttery for our tastes. These aromas were, for us at least, quite intense. But as we sipped this one, we found the flavors to be quite well integrated and, while on the high side of oak and malo characteristics, we quite liked it- particularly for having a strong acidity to balance.
California Chardonnay Food Pairing – Ricotta Gnocchi with Mushrooms
We paired this Chardonnay with a ricotta gnocchi topped with mushrooms and a side of radish and broccolini. We thought the prominent oak and malo notes would do well with a creamy pasta, and we loved how this one brought a pineapple spike with more restrained oak notes overall.
The vegetables on the side brought out more oak characteristics, which would have otherwise been a bit too much for us although it surprisingly worked well cutting down the bitterness of the vegetables. All around, a really nice wine pairing!
Score:Â 4 / 5
We'd buy another bottle of this one.
Despite being fairly strong on the oak and malo characteristics, we really liked just how balanced this wine was as it really came with the best of all worlds- intense flavor, strong acidity, and a great pairing for our meal. As such, we'd gladly pick up another bottle again (and would love to see how this one would taste with a few more years on it!)
Lloyd Cellars is located at 25 Enterprise Ct in Napa, CA. We received this bottle as a sample from Lloyd Cellars for review, but as always, all opinions are our own.
Upgrade Your Home Wine Bar
Need to upgrade your wine bar? Grab some new wine accessories:
