2004 Travis Chardonnay, Riverview Vineyard

[wondersofwine]

On WLDG Wine Focus we are looking at Chardonnay this month so I will be posting on four or five different Chards.

Starting with a no-oak Chard this month and will progress to varying degrees of oak. This is listed as unfiltered. Riverview Vineyard is in Monterey County, CA (more on terroir later.)

Synthethic cork. 15.2% alcohol (that's getting pretty high on ABV)
Gold color with transparency. Viscous. Apple cider on the nose along with ginger. Apple and ginger notes on the palate as well. The first evening I had taken it out of the refrigerator too early for dinner and it tasted partly oxidized or heat damaged. The second and third evenings I drank it at a chillier temperature and it improved. Might pair well with porkchops and applesauce or Chinese lemon chicken but I had it with a chicken/rice baked dish and with breaded fish filet.
I would score it somewhere in the 80's--maybe an 85 or 86.
Label says "Riverview Vineyard is in the Salinas Valley. Sandy loam soil provides excellent drainage. Summer temperatures rarely reach 90 degrees F., allowing for the slow ripening so important to fine Chardonnay. The grapes are picked at the end of September, fully ripe yet retaining vibrant acidity. This parcel was planted to the rare Spring Mountain clone, prized for its spicy character. (Ah, ha! So that's where the ginger derives!) Yields average a low three tons an acre.
This wine is NOT fermented or aged in new oak, to preserve its brilliant fruit character. The wine is NOT inoculated for malolactic fermentation to guard its racy, refreshing natural acidity."