Sonoma Creek Winery Chardonnay 1999

Born of some of the best dry farmed, organic grapes around, the 1999 Sonoma Creek Chardonnay lives up to its pedigree. Clean, fresh scents of pear, apple, tropical fruit, and new oak gush from the glass. In the mouth, this delicious Chardonnay coats the palate with a round, full flavor that combines pear, pineapple, and hints of citrus. On the finish, toasty oak, the savory gift of barrel fermentation sur lie (on the skins), pairs with fresh citrus to construct a delightfully crisp refreshing finish. Drink the 1999 Sonoma Creek Chardonnay moderately chilled, about 45°-50° F.

The 1999 Sonoma Creek Chardonnay is your anywhere, go everywhere kind of Chardonnay. It contains plenty of flavors to hold its own against pasta primavera and grilled chicken. It also adds some zip to fried calamari and grilled tuna; yet, it is perfectly delightful on its own. The 1999 Sonoma Creek Chardonnay doesn't wear down the palate, like so many lesser California Chardonnays. Medium-bodied but quite flavorful, this exemplary offering has a lot to say, but it's no braggart. It tastes even better by the second glass, and beyond; like a tried and true friend, she just makes you feel good about yourself. Thank you Tom and Becky Larsen: there is nothing more disappointing than the familiarity that breeds contempt.

Sonoma Creek Winery is located in the western reaches of the Los Carneros appellation on the site of the Larsen family's old Sonoma Rodeo. Where rodeo stock, racehorses, and polo ponies once grazed, Tom and Becky Larsen now grow organic, dry-farmed Chardonnay for their award winning wines. The heritage of the property on which Sonoma Creek Winery sits and the history of the family that has owned it since the 19th century bring to life stories of the Wild West and capture the California experience the transformation from rough and tumble western outpost to the world's fourth largest producer of fine wine. Today, Sonoma Creek Winery produces a whole line of super tasty, premium Sonoma County varietals, including award winning Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot Noir. All of Sonoma Creek's wines receive extended barrel aging in American or French oak, and most of its wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered, a practice we wish more California producers would enact, since it results in richer, more natural tasting wines. The history of Sonoma Creek Winery, and to a large extent that of California as well, is depicted on Sonoma Creek's label by a colorful rendition of a jumping horse, a reminder that the Wild West in California was not so long ago.