Cuvaison 2003 Napa Chardonnay

Someone offered to send me a couple Napa wines. Now let’s say you enjoy a nice glass of wine on a regular basis and have started to keep your notes online. If someone offered to send you some wine at no cost to you, would you turn them down? I don’t think so! 

Such is how I snagged a couple bottles of Cuvaison wine. The first of them that I’ve tried has been the 2003 Napa Chardonnay. To be right up front, I enjoyed the wine quite a bit. With a lot of California Chardonnay I’m not surprised when I get a big dose of wood taste right out of the gate. With this wine, there’s definitely a nice toasty oak on the nose and taste, but it doesn’t hit you over the head with the flavor of a new 2x4. Along with a note of peaches there’s a buttery texture as well, but not too fat. In fact, there’s a crisp citrus acidity that made the wine refreshing. Generally, the wine was just a little more subtle than some other CA chards I’ve had, and very well rounded.

So what’s not to like. Not much really. Depends on how price conscience you are. This one has a $24 retail price. There are two full aisles of CA Chardonnay at Grapevine Market here. Can this wine really stand out among them all? Hard to say. But another one I’ve had recently that I liked pretty well suggests it’s got to be pretty tough competition out there. The Cambria Katherine's Vineyard 2003 Chardonnay 2003 from the Santa Maria Valley may not have the same pedigree as the Cuvaison, but it was still pretty good and $10 cheaper.

Price

Retails for around $24

Overall

 enjoyed it a lot. Long finish, subtle nose and taste of oak and hints of butter in the mouth feel.

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