OK, I’m not going to spend a lot of time belaboring this one.  I’ve expressed my opinions about Barefoot wines in the past.  They aren’t that exciting, but they generally do a good job in cranking out some decent wines.  I haven’t had any Barefoot wine that I’d call “sex in a glass” but I’ve never found one to be undrinkable either — which isn’t something I can say about all cheap wine.

I’ve expressed before that I don’t like the fact that they don’t put vintages on their wines.  But an argument could be made that with the volume of wine they produce, there would be variation within a single vintage due to the variety of sources for the grapes.

I do have to give them credit for quality control and consistency.  While their wines are decent, they also are “production wines” made for consistency versus hand crafted wines made for character, and they tend to be a bit boring to me.

This is rather nice on the nose with soft peach and apple aromas.  It doesn’t strike me as exciting, but it’s doing what a basic California chardonnay should do.  The palate is consistent with the nose in that the flavors are mostly peach and green apple.  It has a little bit of a citrus quality on the finish.  The acidity is adequate and the mouth feel is a little bit creamy.  For a mere $7.00, I can’t complain about this chardonnay.

Wine: Barefoot Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: non-vintage
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 86
Price: $6.99

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Here’s what others thought of the this chardonnay:

• Recession Wines
• Novice Wine Blog

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

This isn’t the first time we’ve reviewed the X Winery Carneros Chardonnay.  We’ve previously reviewed the 2007 vintage, which was exceptional.  And I have to admit that I’m tardy with this review as they’ve already released their 2009 vintage.  But you may still come across a bottle of this in your local shop, so I figured I’d go ahead and do the review.

As you see in the title, this chardonnay is from Carneros — and that’s a region that means something when it comes to chardonnay.  Carneros is a cool climate region at the south of both Sonoma and Napa Valley.  The cool climate makes it a great region for both chardonnay and pinot noir — much like Santa Barbara County that I mentioned a few days ago.  If you’re a wine geek, like me, I’d recommend picking up a couple bottles of chardonnay from a region like Carneros or Santa Barbara County and comparing it side-by-side with wine from other parts of California.  You’ll notice the difference.

I’ve admitted before that I’ve become quite a fan of X Winery.  I’ve had many tasty wines produced by them, at reasonable prices, which makes me a big fan.  But I should also note that as usual, I tasted this blind.  So, here are my thoughts about this wine when I didn’t know it was an X Winery chardonnay.

A brilliant golden color makes this an attractive wine to look at.  It smells really nice, with a slight perfume aroma, along with some citrus, flint and oak toast.  It is quite flavorful with pear, honeydew melon and big peach flavors.  The peach flavor lasts well into the finish.  This is a really nice Chardonnay.

Wine: X Winery 2008 Carneros Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.9%
Rating: 87
Price: $19.00

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Here’s what others thought of the this chardonnay:

• Wine Harlots

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Over the past few months we’ve received a surprising number of boxed wine samples.  I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise since we are all about cheap wine.  But even though we’re into cheap wine, we’re still finicky and definitely prefer to review good, cheap wine (or call it “inexpensive wine” if you have a hang-up with the word cheap.)  Anyway… we have noticed an increase in wine producers using bag-in-box packaging and we’ve noticed the quality of the wine going into boxes to be improving as well.

Black Box is one of the producers that’s doing a nice job with their boxed wines.  And when I say, “nice job” I mean that the wine is OK.  They do better with some varieties than with others.  This chardonnay I would say is good.  I was really impressed with the bouquet, but not as wowed by the palate.  It doesn’t “blow me away” as the best chardonnay I’ve ever tasted, but for the equivalent price of $8.00 a bottle it’s pretty good.

I should note that Black Box actually puts out two different chardonnays.  They have a Monterey County chardonnay, which I have not tasted, and this Napa Valley Reserve chardonnay.

This wine has a big bouquet that smells like kettle corn, butterscotch, nectarine and lime.  It’s very full and quite nice.  The oak is a little heavy on the palate, giving this wine a little bit of a wet board flavor.  Other than that it has apple, citrus and nectarine flavors.  The acidity is sufficient.  The finish is quite long and oaky.  If a buttery and oaky chardonnay is your thing, then I’d say check this one out.

Wine: Black Box Napa Valley Reserve Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $31.99 for 3 liters (equivalent to $8.00 per 750ml bottle)

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Here’s what some others thought of the this chardonnay:

• Whom You Know

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

When you’re looking for a California Chardonnay, you may seek out one from Russian River Valley, Napa Valley or Sonoma Valley.  But there’s another region you should consider, Santa Barbara County.  This region is far south of the Sonoma/Napa wine country.  In fact, the southernmost part of the county is just over 100 miles north of Los Angeles.  Instinctively you may think it would be warmer this far south and not as good for vineyards, but influence of the Pacific ocean make outstanding conditions for growing wine grapes.  The area gets very little rainfall and a persistent fog from the coast creates cool, cloudy conditions which grapes like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir just love.

The majority of the grapes in the Main Street Winery Chardonnay come from Santa Barbara County, 82% to be exact.  The other 18% of the grapes come from Monterey County, north of Santa Barbara County and just south of San Francisco.

This wine is a beautiful golden color.  The aromas are somewhat restrained but include lemon, toasted oak, apple and hay.  The flavors start with a yellow delicious apple characteristic and evolve into peach and citrus.  A bit of oak flavor comes in on the finish, but it’s not too strong. The mouth feel is rich and very creamy. I like it.  It’s a great deal and a great introduction to Santa Barbara County Chardonnay at just $10.

Wine: Main Street Winery Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $9.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Montevina got their start back in 1970 and they’re based in Sierra Foothills in Amador County, California.  While they have 400 acres of estate vineyards, they also source some of their grapes from other growers.

The literature available on their Chardonnay doesn’t state whether the grapes are from their vineyards or sourced.  It also doesn’t state, in detail, where the grapes are from — other than being from coastal and delta fruit, or in other words cool climate regions.  I assume the grapes are sourced from a few different vineyards.  Regardless of where the fruit is from, the result is pretty good.

The wine underwent fermentation in primarily stainless steel, with less than 10% undergoing fermentation on French oak.

The Montevina Chardonnay has a nearly clear color, with just a soft straw tone.  The oak is noticeable on the nose but it’s definitely not over-oaked, as can be an issue with some California Chardonnay.  It has good intensity and decent complexity on the nose with green apple, citrus, subtle oak and flinty aromas. The mouth feel is uber-creamy and the flavors are delicate apple, fig and melon.  The melon flavor lingers into the finish.  This is a light and pleasant Chardonnay.

The quality-to-price ratio is outstanding on this wine with a price of just $10.99.

Wine: Montevina Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $10.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

When I write about European wines it’s fairly common to come across producers with a rich history, passing down vineyards for several generations.  But most producers in the US have a much shorter history.  Concannon is an exception to that rule.  Established in 1883, Concannon is the oldest continually operating winery in California under the same family name.  They now have four generations of family involvement in the winery.

Concannon produces a few different lines of wine and this Chardonnay is from their Conservancy line.  These wines are produced with grapes sourced from the Livermore Valley vineyards, which are protected by a conservation trust to ensure that the land is preserved as a wine production region and not overtaken by urban sprawl.

A little bit of yellow delicious apple, honey, citrus and perfume give this wine a decent nose. Apple and lime juice flavors dominate the palate.  It has a nice, fresh and clean taste.  There is some oak flavor on the finish, which particularly with California Chardonnay can be too strong at times, but it’s not too much in this wine.  So, if you like a little oak in your Chardonnay, but not too much, you may like this one.

Wine: Concannon Conservancy Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 84
Price Paid: $15.00

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Here’s what some others thought of the 2008 Concannon Conservancy Chardonnay:

• Wine for Normal People
• The Good Wine Guru
• Good Wine Under $20

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.