Well, I've tried this stunt before, but some things are so much fun that we want to try them over and over. I suggested to members of a monthly tasting group I attend that we try a blind flight of California chardonnays with one French chard and see what we thought. Several members of this group pride themselves on being Burg experts and they were just as certain as the attendees of The Judgement of San Francisco were that they would never mistake a California chardonnay for a white Burg.
We had a flight of five wines, and they are listed in order with my note, my ranking, the group ranking, the number of (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and last-place votes), and finally the number of votes for the wine being of French origin.
Wine A: Nose of sunny, ripe fruit and noticable oak. Medium body with excessive oakiness leading to a slightly bitter finish. My wine #5, Group wine #5 (0,2,1,5), no votes for French.
Wine B: The nose shows lots of vanilla & oak. Medium full palate reveals butterscoth & lots of oak dominating ripe fruit. but there is good citrus-like acidity providing interest and structure. Sigh, oak on the finish, too. No way THIS one is a Burg! My wine #3, Group wine #4, (0,1,4,1), no votes for French.
Wine C: Nose of lemon peel and ripe tropical fruits. Palate is rich and balanced with good lemony acidic structure. Oak is restrained, as is malo-butter. Very refreshing in the mouth, long finish. My wine #4, Group wine #3, (0,3,2,1), two votes for French.
Wine D: Reticent nose. Great acid and balance on palate. Seems steely and austere compared to other wines in the flight. Not particularly open for business, but no obvious faults, either. My wine #2, Group wine #2, (2,3,1,1), two votes for French, including mine.
Wine E: Nose shows marked minerality built on a background of ripe fruit. Palate is ever so slightly ripe and sweet, but with strong minerality, stones, and steel. Quite complex Very long finish. My wine #1, overwhelming Group wine #1, (7,0,1,0), five votes for French.
And now the envelope, please?
Wine A: 2004 Landmark Chardonnay Overlook - USA, California
Wine B: 2002 Littorai Chardonnay Thieriot Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Wine C: 2004 Varner Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Home Block - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Wine D: 2001 Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Wine E: 2004 Rhys Chardonnay - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains - Congratulations to Rhys! The winner of the votes for being French, and the overwhelming favorite of the group.
Frankly, the folks in this tasting group need some practice on playing this game, I had to bring both the Varner and the Rhys. What would have made it more fun would have been some other likely French impersonators like Mount Eden, Montelena, Stony Creek, and Ridge.
Still, the results were quite interesting. Santa Cruz Mountain wines are clearly excellent, and able to go toe to toe with wines from anywhere in the world. The exciting part, is that given the talent and dedication of Santa Cruz Mountian winemakers, the wines are only going to get better. Please do try this at home!
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