What the !@#$%^&*!? has happened to California Chardonnay? (A rant)

[Bucko]

Take one part acid, 3 parts oak, two parts fruit, shake it up and let it go through 100% MLF, bottle it in an odd-shaped bottle and charge big bucks - voila - CA Chardonnay. Do any of the winemakers actually drink this swill? Are there any guilty consciences out there? What has happened to individuality? Yikes!!!!

I just tasted my way through 37 1997/98 Chardonnays, ranging from $7 to $45. Oak, oak, oak, flab, flab, flab...... I actually preferred two low-end wines over the big bucks Chards, probably because they did not use 100% new French oak to overwhelm the wine with, and the wine did not go through 100% MLF.........

1997 Husch Chardonnay, Mendocino, $12.50, current release. 95% BF, 15% MLF. This wine is ready to drink now, has adequate green apple fruit and modest oak for those who do not like overoaked wines. This wine will work well with light chicken dishes.

1998 Hawk Crest Chardonnay, California, $10. Yes, Hawk Crest -- An overachiever for the price class, this balanced wine has nice apple and grapefruit flavors, minimal oak and crisp acid that will make it a great food wine. This is a case buy value.

BoredWithChardBucko