One of the many highlights of my recent trip to the San
Francisco Bay area was having dinner at Alice Waters’ famous Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley. Long before most yuppies cared about fresh, local,
environmentally-friendly food, this place has been serving up culinary works of
art with a Northern California touch.
The restaurant’s upstairs section is designed with an a-la-carte
menu that changes almost as quickly as the Ocean Beach surf conditions. My girlfriend and
I split an assortment of Pacific oysters for an appetizer, and I ordered halibut
with a green olive, oil and herb sauce for a main course.
I was surprised by the affordability of the wines Chez Panisse
had on their list, as well as the diversity of producers. I ended up
choosing a wine I’d never heard of, hoping for a surprise: the 2009 Lioco Chardonnay Demuth Vineyard from the Anderson Valley in Mendocino. Considering the
establishment at which I was dining, I knew the wine would be good, but I had
no idea how good. Turns out, this wine is stunning.
Intoxicating
aromas of meyer lemon, margarita salt, minerals and brie rind. Over the course
of the evening, a bit of honeydew melon came out on the nose. This wine really
is an aromatic experience.
The
wine isn't oaked, and I for one am happy about that. The juice is so damn good
that it needs no added flavors or textures. Tangy acid hits the palate upon the
first sip and carries through to the finish. This wine is almost Chablis-like
with its mineral and lemon flavors, but the California sunshine shows through with
flavors of rich lemon curd and orange rind. As a whole, this is pure, vibrant
and simply beautiful chardonnay. It's worlds apart from those high-alcohol, oak-slathered, butter-bomb California chardonnays you might be used to.
It
stood up to the briny oysters with its minerals and acid, but it also paired well with the richness of the
halibut. I would love to taste this again in five years, as I’m sure its
complexity will evolve for a long time. I'd also love to throw this wine into a
tasting of Grand Cru Chablis, because I have a feeling it would hold its own.
I
scored it 94 pts, and that's being conservative.
The wine was so good, I had to do some research…
These chardonnay grapes are grown in the Demuth Vineyard, a 1,600-foot mountain-top
vineyard that overlooks the Anderson Valley. The soil has a shallow layer of
clay underlined by thick shale rock, and the wide swings in temperature between
day and night provide ideal growing conditions for chardonnay. The winemakers
insist on their website that: “this is the best demuth we have made yet.
period. end of story.” This is my first Demuth Vineyard wine, but I’m willing
to take their word. It’s an incredible California chardonnay, even if it acts a little French.
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