WTN: 2002 Costa de Oro Chardonnnay, Gold Coast Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley
My favorite thing about our wine club is the variety of wines we get. That's also my least favorite thing. Every bottle is potentially a new favorite or a wine we'd never buy again.
It's not quite the Russian Roulette I imply: We've been very happy with virtually all of our selections. But I sighed as I picked up the Costa de Oro Chardonnay a couple months back. Chardonnays from California rarely woo me, and when they do, it's usually because they're not as bad as I expected. I know I'm in the minority on this one: probably 99% of the country's wine drinkers prefer the California style to the European version. But I'm not fond of the excessive oak our vintners apply to this grape, and the malolactic fermentation always seems particularly aggressive in these wines.
There's a time and a place for everything, however. Though most sommeliers consider it a challenge to pair California chardonnay with food, corn and crab are common suggestions. So I dug out our lonely chardonnay as I cooked for my corn-centric SFist post, and I did a little research the next day.
Cooling winds and fog funnel off the Pacific into the Santa Maria valley to create a favorable climate for pinot noir and chardonnay vines. Sand and clay loam line the ground, reaching up to the bluff where the Gold Coast Vineyard sits, looking out over the valley. It's easy to imagine the landscape if you've seen Sideways: rolling hills covered in waving, yellow grass and stands of oaks that entice passersby to picnic under their boughs.
I'm sure the countryside will woo me if we visit, but this particular wine did not. It offered up one-dimensional aromas of diacetyl, the chemical that creates the butter smell in microwave popcorn, and an odd, oily aroma I couldn't quite place. From the smells I expected a heavy, flabby wine, but I was surprised to discover a light body and a charming acidity. The diacetyl flavors continued on the palate but the wine did go well with the butter-drenched ear of corn and the corn soup we had for dinner. I don't know that I'd buy this wine again, but if I were serving a corn-heavy dish, I'd be tempted.
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