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Thursday, December 29, 2016

Wine Review: Matchbook Dunnigan Hills 2015 Old Head Chardonnay


Matchbook Wine Company has appeared on this blog many times. November of 2015 was dedicated entirely to their wines, and then they returned for a few more reviews in July of 2016 and September of 2016. If you'd like to read more about them then check out my article A Brief History of Matchbook Wine Company

One of those previous wines I've reviewed by them was their 2012 Old Head Chardonnay and today I'm revisiting their Old Head with the latest vintage. The 2015 vintage is 100% estate bottled Chardonnay and made from six different clones of the varietal. Clone 809, 25% of the blend, was fermented in stainless steel while the other clones, 75% of the blend, saw 100% aging in French, hybrid American and Hungarian oak barrels on the lees. It has an ABV of 13.9% and 48,000 cases were produced.

Simpson's Comic Book Guy
WORST. YEAR. EVER.
This is the final review of 2016! Fairwell, you wretched year! With you, David Bowie and so many other beloved people are gone. With you, we've elected a steaming pile of incompetence and tantrums to be our next president. With you, the Nazi's are back under the bullshit name "Alt-Right". The entire year of 2016 can go blow a goat. So waddya say we power this review out and be done with it?

The color of the wine is a light straw color. The nose has a little smokiness to it that I don't recall on the 2012. There's also aromas of pineapple, butterscotch and vanilla wafers. It's such a lovely nose. Goddamn, I love Chardonnay so much. It's hard to imagine that I didn't like it when I began my career as a wine professional. I was a fool.

Like the 2012, it's more heavily bodied than other Chardonnay's in its price range. Also, the oak is obviously from real barrels and not staves or extract. The mouthfeel is like smooth, creamy butter. The acidity makes itself known to breath in some brightness but it doesn't take over. There's flavors of mango, lemon pudding and pear juice. Then it finishes with lemon pudding and baking spices.

For a $15 Chardonnay, this is where it's at. Matchbook does it yet again! Happy New Year, wineos!

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $15
Rating: 4.5/5 = Recommended / Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

The bottle used was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.

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1 comment:

  1. Well I like the label at Matchbook Wine company's bottle! It looks burnt and which enhance the looks

    ReplyDelete

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