The 2015 Alyris Chardonnay “The Audition”

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The Alyris Vineyards

To get a perspective on this boutique and artisan winery located in Napa Valley, see a previously published story at: https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2017/04/18/alyris-vineyards-2/ . Here you can read up on Ewan and Cyndi Downie, the owners of the winery and Rudy Zuidema, their winemaker. In the article you can read why their estate vineyards, located on the back side of Mt George provide a great environment, especially for their award winning deep and mouth quenching Cabernet Sauvignon. Click on: https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2018/11/08/alyris-vineyards-presents-their-piece-de-resistance-carnal-wine-company/

The 2015 Alyris “The Audition” Chardonnay

Pulled this wine out of the cellar last evening and was pleasantly delighted beyond my memory with this wine. California Chardonnay does best in specific areas as Sonoma (coast & Russian River), Santa Cruz Mountains, Central Coast, Livermore Valley & Napa Valley (Carneros Region) make some of the best Chardonnay wines from these vineyard locations. This is due to the cooler temperatures of the Pacific Ocean, the Russian River, San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay drawing the fog into the regions. No exception is the 2015 Alyris “The Audition” Chardonnay with its proximity of San Francisco Bay with the cooling fog.  Always one of my personal favorite Chardonnays, regardless of price. The wine is aged in 100% French oak barrels for 22 months. On the eyes a dark golden seductive color with medium heavy viscosity. On the nose, honeysuckle and traces of pineapple are the two main aromas that waft into your senses along with floral notes. On the palate, these two flavors explode into ripeness with spices of pear, nutmeg and allspice in the background. Always a great soft finish with just a touch of minerality and fullness in the mouth. Alyris 2014 “The Audition” won a Double Gold Medal at the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The 2015 is equal or even better!! The 2015 Chardonnay changed in the bottle to bring out flavors of butterscotch and toffee this evening. Today the 2015 is available but limited quantities at $45. Small production lots (2015 was 170 cases), so if interested contact them on their website.

Sláinte,


Michael
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
http://alyrisvineyards.com/

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