In case you missed my announcement in "Winding Things Down", the blog will be changing in 2020. I'll still be here and I'll still be posting, but I cannot continue to treat it like a second job. I'd like to spontaneously watch a movie with my wife at night without rushing to catch up to my own schedule here, ya know? I need some freedom and my nights back.
So reviews will all be more like the "quickies" I've been writing (which people seem to like more than my full reviews anyways) and I'm not going to try and keep it to certain days of the week that they're released. I'll post when I can, but I'm not going to worry about keeping a pace. Wine Pick of the Month will definitely still be a thing on the first of the month, though.
But this all doesn't start until next year (and maybe not until February, pending discussions on something special). So what's up with December? There's Scotch aged in Sherry casks, two stouts, a Port, another Californian Chardonnay other than this one, two wines from Riax Biax, cocktails with Oso de Doro, Pedro Ximenez Sherry, Cream Sherry, and two Cavas for New Year's. Also, we gotta round up the best of the Fall!
My wine pick for the month is the 2017 vintage of Panthera Chardonnay, which is produced by Hess Family Wine Estates. The first vintage of Panthera was the 2016 vintage and I fell in love with it, and it remains the same with the 2017. It's 100% Chardonnay from R.R. and aged in 35% new French oak barrels for 18 months, and it has an ABV of 14.8% (!!!).
It's light gold in color. The nose is dominated by vanilla, followed by pineapple, apple, butter, honey, and ginger. Damn I love the smell of oaky Chardonnay. On the palate it's full bodied with a rich mouthfeel and a bright acidity that lifts up the weight of the wine. There's flavors of vanilla, pineapple, apple, banana, and butter. Then it finishes with a thick coating in your mouth of apples and banana.
I'm still in love with this wine. It's oaky and buttery and hedonistic and gorgeous. And it's my wine pick of the month, so go get it!
QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $45
Rating: 5/5 = 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.
The bottle used was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.
This one is rich and spicy and the first blend I've really enjoyed which is to say I'm going now to pour another.
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