1996 Salitage Chardonnay

The 1996 Chardonnay is a seriously-endowed, creamy-textured, big, lusty, tropical fruit-scented and flavored wine with a honeyed pear and tangerine-like personality. One-hundred percent of the malolactic fermentation was blocked in order to preserve enough acidity to give the wine vibrancy and definition. Concentrated, rich, and long, with a New World-like personality, it should be consumed over the next 1-2 years. This winery is better-known for its Pinot Noirs, which I thought were intriguing, smoky, tomato-tasting Pinots with a heavy overlay of chocolate. I thought they were average to above average in quality, but not sufficiently interesting or complex enough to merit a recommendation.