Taste it Again: Closson Chase 2009 Sans Chene Chardonnay
12 Feb 2015- Details
- Category: Lost & Found / Taste it Again
(December 19, 2014) ... This is a wine I originally gave 5 stars to, so I was interested to see what happened to it 5 years later, especially because of the "sans chene" aspect (no oak) ... Can an unoaked Chardonnay age gracefully or does it fall off the table and die? I can honestly say that giving this wine 5-stars was a coup for me because this one might be even better than when I originally tried it ... And this time I did not try it on my own, so I have a second opinion as confirmation of just how good it is. The nose has developed a beauty of an aroma with lots of buttery poached peach, and vanilla soaked pears, makes you want to dive into the glass. Palate feels like it is bathed in oak with all its burnt butter and vanilla backed by a pear puree. I am surprised about the proclaimed lack of oak, so I'm assuming this wine swam in lees for an extended period of time. Finish is long and luxurious with a lovely creaminess but with well balanced acidity keeping everything in check. The only problem I could find with this bottle was the short, slightly leaky cork with a touch of mold covering the top which was revealed once the heavy foil capsule was removed.
(December 12, 2014) ... This wine was made back in the day when Huff Estates was bucking the County trend of making Pinot Noir. So two intrepid employees, the winemaker and, I do believe, hospitality manager, decided to take it upon themselves and make Pinot Noir in the cellars of Huff. This was their first and only effort as Huff began making Pinot the following year. Here we are some 8 years later popping the cork and giving this wine a serious second go round. The nose is one stanky, nasty piece f business, but there also sees to be a cranberry note coming through despite the funny smells. Some would probably not venture a taste but I did, and surprisingly things went much better than anticipated: earthy, sour dried raspberry and freeze dried strawberry; quite good, but really I should not be too surprised considering another '06 County Pinot also impressed the hell out of me not too long ago (
