J. Lohr Riverstone Chardonnay '07

I realized a few days ago I've reviewed many teas, beers and liquors but not a single wine! I made the choice of J. Lohr as my first brand because I've had many excellent wines from them and their chardonnay is a wine I commonly recommend to customers at my work.

Now for those of you who know much about Californian chardonnays; almost all of them have a taste in common, oak. The Riverstone Chardonnay certainly has this but much more is going on as well. Taking a whiff of my glass I noticed citrus and pear in addition to the vanilla-oak, (the vanilla-oak reminds me of Cutty Sark). Once I took a sip the pear took on a more clover honey perspective and the vanilla-oak became a bit more seperable. The body of the wine was a little heavier than I expected and it finished very clean with the citrus as a last note. The pear did leave a pleasant sweetness on my tounge after finishing however.

Don't serve this wine very chilled, if at all. I found when chilled it made the palate more faint and brought out the citrus more, (not as pleasant). The J. Lohr Riverstone Chardonnay is a A (excellent) in my book. This one is a great value as well, at only $10 this is one of the best Californian chardonnays I've tried.