USA Archives -

Robert Mondavi Chardonnay 2018 Review – Balanced With Age

One thing I absolutely love to do when shopping for wine is checking out a store's clearance bin. When you'd think a clearance bin would be just for poor wine, we've had some surprising finds, including many bottles from many famous producers marked down because wine staff thought “they were getting old.”

This is how we found a bottle of Robert Mondavi Chardonnay 2018 for about $10 off list price, and snatched it up right away.

A seven year old California Chardonnay at a much more appropriate price point? Well, we are in, and took that discount in a heartbeat thank you very much.

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.

When it comes to planning a wine trip to Napa and Sonoma, you'll naturally come across one very important question- where do you stay?

The good news is that these two counties have no shortage of options, most of which are easily accessible to just about any winery in either county in 30 to 75 minutes (or a bit more). The bad news is, that may make figuring out where to stay harder, not easier, as you can almost stay just about anywhere and have a great time.

So in this one, let's break down more details on what you should consider when planning on where to stay in Napa and Sonoma for a wine trip, and share why keeping the drive times and hotel prices in mind may be the most important factors!

To call the Finger Lakes region sprawling is an understatement. The twelve lakes in the region span a length of about 60 miles as the crow flies, and the rural back roads that loop each lake can make for some considerable driving time when exploring.

It is due to this reason that being strategic in where you stay can make or break a trip as drive times can add up before you know it.

Thankfully, for those who are visiting for wine, odds are good you'll be clustering your visit to the 100+ wineries located on just three lakes, Cayuga, Seneca, and Keuka. While this helps with planning to some degree, the simple truth is that between driving to (and around) these lakes can still mean a lot of car time.

So, how do you plan where to stay in order to get the most out of your visit? We have some thoughts!

Arista is one of our favorite wineries in Sonoma, and makes some of the best Pinot Noir we've had in the USA.

Naturally, we became club members and regularly add bottles to our cellar to age.

Arista's Perli Vineyard Pinot Noir is one that we have the most of in our collection. Now that our first bottles, from the 2017 vintage, are now entering their drinking window, we thought we'd pull one out and see how they're stacking up!

We always like to find great wine stores when we travel to see what life could be like if we didn't live in the lovely controlled state of Pennsylvania.

When we made a weekend trip to New York City, we knew what store we had to check out- Astor Wine & Spirits.

This one had a reputation as one of the finest wine stores in New York, and we had even ordered deliveries from them from time to time. So as (admittedly infrequent) customers, we knew this would be a pilgrimage-style spot for us.

As much as we liked the wine selection here, the spirits were also just as, if not more, impressive!

As a Pennsylvanian, you can imagine that I have some pretty strong opinions about our state-managed wine and liquor stores. They are, well, not that great and leave us yearning for more.

This is perhaps best felt when we go to other states that have massive entities selling all things wine and spirits, and in the USA, we get this feeling the most when visiting Total Wine.

A giant grocery store of wine, and some even with a huge spirits selection as well? This one really should be in all 50 states.

El Pino Club's Sea Floored is a nod to the ancient sea floor where Sta. Rita Hills are now found, which enjoy a breeze from the Pacific to help keep these light reds refreshing and crisp.

For those who like a lighter style Pinot Noir from California, this is a bottle to consider!

Hybrid grapes are often quite interesting, as they typically are crosses between a European vinifera grape and an indigenous North American varietal.

Baco Noir is one such grape which is considered to be a cross of Folle Blanche (French) and an unknown species from the Americas. It is growing across many US states and Canada, and is one you may see pop up from time to time in the Finger LAkes region of upstate New York.

We found a delightful bottle of Heron Hill's Reserve Baco Noir during one trip to the region and promptly forgot about it in our cellar for six years. Thankfully, a bit of age on this one ended up being a great thing!

During our exploration of wineries near Seattle, we stumbled upon Latta and immediately fell in love.

First it started with a bottle we picked up at a wine shop to take to dinner. Then we visited the winery the very next day. And now, of course, we are converts and try to enjoy their wines whenever possible.

The Dana Dibble Syrah was one such bottle that made our way into our collection (courtesy of our friends in Seattle who brought it for us as gift knowing how much we like them), and this one hits some great notes for a Rhone-forward style Syrah from Washington!

Robert Mondavi Chardonnay 2018 Review – Balanced With Age

Lloyd Cellars Chardonnay 2023 Review – Balanced Oak and Malo

Where to Stay in Napa and Sonoma – Drive Times Add Up

Where to Stay in the Finger Lakes for Wine Tasting

Arista Perli Vineyard 2017 Review – Even Better With Age

Astor Wine & Spirits is a Gem in the Heart of New York City

Total Wine is the Grocery Store of Wine Want Everywhere

El Pino Club Sea Floored Pinot Noir 2021 Review – Lighter California

Heron Hill Reserve Baco Noir 2016 Review – Great With Age

Latta Syrah Dana Dibble 2018 – A Robust Washington Syrah