Saturday Night – It’s Chardonnay time! Part 1

Last week, the four of us had a good time comparing two different Cabernet Sauvignons head-to-head over three courses. This week I attempted to do the same thing with Chardonnay but it didn’t work out quite as planned as one of the bottles was finished before the end of the first course.

We has three different Chardonnays – 2005 Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, a 2003 Cloudy Bay Chardonnay and a 2004 Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay.

"Smoked Salmon"

The menu for the evening was Smoked Salmon with Bagel Crisps, Cucumber, Red Onion, Capers, Lemon and Cream Cheese to start. The main course was Veal Scallopini with Brown Butter and Capers - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Veal-Scallopini-with-Brown-Butter-and-Capers-350226 with a side of Fettuccine noodles with Sugar Snap Peas in a lemon butter sauce.

I’ll start with the 2005 Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay. This wine a great example of a big buttery and fruit forward California Chardonnay. We had this with the Smoked Salmon and killed the bottle before finishing that course.

"Good Value for Money!"

The Vintner’s Reserve is the yellow-gold colour that you’d expect to see in a Chardonnay with a moderate nose of pineapple, apple and oak. Tasting the wine you get pineapple, nice acidity and balance with a smooth finish. This is a very approachable wine and its easy drinking nature will quickly win over people.

This wine when paired with Smoked Salmon is stunning and probably one of my favourite wine and food pairings on the planet.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay 2006

VINTAGES 369686
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 19.95

13.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: California/Californie, United States

By: Kendall-Jackson

Release Date: Oct 11, 2008

Tasting Note - The 2006 Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay is certainly one of the best Chardonnays for the money. This wine, which all comes from coastal vineyards owned by Jackson, is 90% barrel-fermented and put through 100% malolactic, which is remarkable given the quantity of wine made ... Crisp orange marmalade and lemon oil notes as well as some tropical fruits always characterize this wine, which seems to show very little evidence of oak, with gorgeously lush fruit, and zesty acidity in a fresh, lively style. It's a remarkable value ... Drink 2007-2008. Score - 89. (Robert Parker Jr., www.erobertparker.com, Dec. 2007)

Note – this is for the 2006 version and not the 2005 reviewed here, though I have been drinking this wine since the 1999 version and it has been extremely consistent year after year so this 2006 vs. 2005 really isn’t a big deal.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark - 90, Kathy – 92, Amy – 90, Overall – 90.

As I wrote earlier this wine is a great pairing with Smoked Salmon, so much so that we had drained the bottle before finishing the Salmon.

There are better Chardonnay’s out there but not many that are the same price point as the Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve. This is a wine that you’ll want a couple bottles of for you wine rack, it is one of the few that I actually buy by the case.

Click here for Part 2