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Best chardonnay to buy today, and put away for a few years.

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tntom

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Under $50/bottle. Best Value. I have anew house with an unheated basement section that I beleive will stay between 50-65F.

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Re: Best chardonnay to buy today, and put away for a few years. - jazz1 00:24:28 02/26/05 (0)
2003 Uitsig Chardonnay Reserve, a knockout!!
beringer private reserve - stan2 15:47:39 03/24/04 (2)
'01 is a good choice. beringer does chard well. one of their recent vintages, maybe 5-6 yrs ago, was a wine spectator #2 in the world. i just saw a review today in a wine mag that picked the '01 for 5 stars/exceptional. about $25-30.
- Bleccccchh! - MikeJ 11:55:43 09/02/04 (0)
  I haven't had that wine since the '83 or '84 vintage, but it seemed to a cartoon of a wine. Subtle it is not. And I seriously doubt that it is age-worthy.
- Re: beringer private reserve - Soundmind 13:35:16 08/29/04 (0)
  I just had a bottle of the 95 private reserve last week and it was delicious. I only have one more bottle of old chardonnay and it's the 96 Sbraglia private reserve. I'll save it for a special occasion.
Re: Best chardonnay to buy today, and put away for a few years. - jond 12:10:56 03/20/04 (0)
If you looking at California, most Chards don't age particularly well, but there are a few exceptions. Look at Stony Hill, Long Vineyards, and Chalone. The first two are probably the best agers, particularly Stony Hill. I would say you're safe up to 10 years with the SH, 7-8 years with Long, and 3-5 years with Chalone. Approximate retail prices are SH $42, Long $38, and Chalone $30. All this being said the best bet for Chards that age is always white Burgundy. Look at producers such as Marc Colin and Paul Pernot.
Re: Chardonnays tend to get a little too mellow after only a couple of years aging IMO... - mkuller 14:01:13 03/03/04 (1)
but the bigger ones - more oak, etc. - age better, if that's the style you like. Check the Wine Spectator recommendations.
Regards,
Mike
- Re: Chardonnays tend to get a little too mellow after only a couple of years aging IMO... - zintintin 18:57:30 07/27/04 (0)
  I disagree. It seems to me that the big oaky vanilla monsters are the soft ones that don't age. A Stony Hill (mentioned in the thread) which is made with a light hand on the oak and no malolactic fermentation is a good ager. As is the similarly vinted Trefethen. And a Grgich Hills needs at least four years to come into its own. Some of the oak/tannin can preserve a chardonnay but for what I've tasted you tend to get a slightly astringent apple juice (minus the fruitiness) when you put away most CA chards for more than three years. Whites with firm acid, rather than lots of new oak, are better agers in my opinion.
  FWIW my favorite old whites include a '77 Joseph Phelps Chardonnay, consumed in about '88, and an '80 Dom Perignon opened in '95.

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