Montagu
Durell Vineyard Chardonnay
Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California, USA
An absolutely brilliant evening at one of the best hole in the wall spots in all of Fort Worth, Nonna Tata. The Italian food is out of this world good, and if you can get there in time (which we luckily did) the patio is perfect for this weather!
It's no secret that I'm a Montagu Wines fan, and the wines step up a notch year in and year out. The chardonnays have been sourced from different vineyards over the years, but this '15 Durrell Chardonnay is the best one yet...no surprise being sourced from a famed vineyard! Best served a little warmer than cellar temp. Butter is picked up, but it is not dominant. There is a good bit of lemon cream here, as well as walnuts in the finish. Not overly complex, but not extremely simple. This is just delicious quality Chardonnay that should be consumed often. So freaking good.
An absolutely brilliant evening at one of the best hole in the wall spots in all of Fort Worth, Nonna Tata. The Italian food is out of this world good, and if you can get there in time (which we luckily did) the patio is perfect for this weather!
It's no secret that I'm a Montagu Wines fan, and the wines step up a notch year in and year out. The chardonnays have been sourced from different vineyards over the years, but this '15 Durrell Chardonnay is the best one yet...no surprise being sourced from a famed vineyard! Best served a little warmer than cellar temp. Butter is picked up, but it is not dominant. There is a good bit of lemon cream here, as well as walnuts in the finish. Not overly complex, but not extremely simple. This is just delicious quality Chardonnay that should be consumed often. So freaking good.
Big day of wine! Grand Reserve tasting at Total followed by steak night.
Always a blast drinking a wine from Weston. His Durrell Chard is fantastic in imparting a nutty, apricot & peach driven palate.
Big day of wine! Grand Reserve tasting at Total followed by steak night.
Always a blast drinking a wine from Weston. His Durrell Chard is fantastic in imparting a nutty, apricot & peach driven palate.
This chard is doing quite well. However, the entire time I was enjoying this, I was wondering if this wine was ready to go yet. And, even more glad to know that I actually have one in the cellar! Nose and front palate are tropical fruit with a viscous character. Gets a little more mineral rich and stone ground towards the finish. Even though this one is drinking so well now, I feel like there is still quite a bit of restraint here. Better in a couple of years, but NICE now!!
This chard is doing quite well. However, the entire time I was enjoying this, I was wondering if this wine was ready to go yet. And, even more glad to know that I actually have one in the cellar! Nose and front palate are tropical fruit with a viscous character. Gets a little more mineral rich and stone ground towards the finish. Even though this one is drinking so well now, I feel like there is still quite a bit of restraint here. Better in a couple of years, but NICE now!!
Feb 9th, 2019
Side by side with 2016 Montagu Durell Vineyard. Both exceptional- rich, buttery but balanced, beautiful gold in color. Durell more mineral, Ritchie a little creamier. Kept changing my mind which was my favorite.
Side by side with 2016 Montagu Durell Vineyard. Both exceptional- rich, buttery but balanced, beautiful gold in color. Durell more mineral, Ritchie a little creamier. Kept changing my mind which was my favorite.
Nov 23rd, 2018Side by side with Montagu Ritchie Vineyard. Both exceptional- rich, buttery but balanced, beautiful gold in color. Durell more mineral, Ritchie a little creamier. Kept changing my mind which was my favorite.
Side by side with Montagu Ritchie Vineyard. Both exceptional- rich, buttery but balanced, beautiful gold in color. Durell more mineral, Ritchie a little creamier. Kept changing my mind which was my favorite.
Nov 23rd, 2018This wine really has something for everyone. Definitely a crowd pleaser wine, and at the price you cannot go wrong. This has the buttery influence that makes the Rombauer lovers swooning (ok, maybe it doesn't), but this wine does have a little bit of butter influence, nice, silky and sexy limestone notes that really are the centerpiece of the wine. The wine finishes rather soft, lots of "creme" to this wine. IMO it would be a great complement to any food that doesn't require an overpowering white getting in the way. This is a nice chard, that will improve with 3-5 years of aging. I blame @Shay A for making me consume an entire bottle since he did not show up at Classic to help me out with this one :-)
This wine really has something for everyone. Definitely a crowd pleaser wine, and at the price you cannot go wrong. This has the buttery influence that makes the Rombauer lovers swooning (ok, maybe it doesn't), but this wine does have a little bit of butter influence, nice, silky and sexy limestone notes that really are the centerpiece of the wine. The wine finishes rather soft, lots of "creme" to this wine. IMO it would be a great complement to any food that doesn't require an overpowering white getting in the way. This is a nice chard, that will improve with 3-5 years of aging. I blame @Shay A for making me consume an entire bottle since he did not show up at Classic to help me out with this one :-)
May 7th, 2018Nice chard enjoyed tonight. This is a Chardonnay that is a liiiittle bit more on the mineral-rich side and less on the buttery side. The wine pours a nice medium straw color into the glass and has a nice nose of mango, honeydew, and faint notes of buttered popcorn. The entry of this wine is rounded, yet crisp. Mineral-dominated front and middle. Mango and melon, kiwi with a vanishing butterscotch note that gives way to more of a crushed rock and limestone grit and acidity. The finish is actually more on the crisp side, which I attribute to its youth and expect to get a little more rounded as this wine integrates over the next 1-2 years. Very impressed by this wine, and QPR is rather good on this one as well. Glad I have a couple more of these!
Nice chard enjoyed tonight. This is a Chardonnay that is a liiiittle bit more on the mineral-rich side and less on the buttery side. The wine pours a nice medium straw color into the glass and has a nice nose of mango, honeydew, and faint notes of buttered popcorn. The entry of this wine is rounded, yet crisp. Mineral-dominated front and middle. Mango and melon, kiwi with a vanishing butterscotch note that gives way to more of a crushed rock and limestone grit and acidity. The finish is actually more on the crisp side, which I attribute to its youth and expect to get a little more rounded as this wine integrates over the next 1-2 years. Very impressed by this wine, and QPR is rather good on this one as well. Glad I have a couple more of these!
Jan 23rd, 2018
