The Deals Are Here
-
Great White Deal- San Simeon Chardonnay for $9
March 6, 2010
Daily Drinkers, Wines under $10 
-
Tonight I made the mistake of not decanting my red (Faust Cabernet 2005- coming in a later post), so I had a glass of my wife’s Chardonnay while the red opens up. What a great surprise! The San Simeon Chardonnay is from Monterey, and comes entirely from the Riboli family estate vineyards in the Arroyo Seco appellation. This is a Chardonnay worthy of medium term aging and shows much better than it’s price point. I just got back from a trip to Santa Barbara county where they make a ton of great chards and this stands up to the best of them.A bit of citrus and mineral on the nose is followed by a buttery mouthfeel and a nice touch of oak and smoke on the finish. My wife also notes a floral quality in the wine which I totally agree with.
Bottom line: This Chardonnay stands up with others in the $20-30 range and, in my opinion, is only eclipsed by the best like Cakebread and Beringer Private Reserve.
As usual, LA Wine Company has the best price on this wine at $8.99. Buy a case and you won’t be disappointed. There aren’t many 2006 chards left and this one is top notch.
My husband I had our “date night” last Tuesday, and decided to stop at a wine tasting cellar near our house, that we had never visited. The chardonnay they pour is San Simeon, Monteray, and when I tasted it I could not believe the quality. After all, they were only charging $6 a glass, and I thought I’d get what I’d pay for, but much to my surprise, I have to agree with the blogger, it is as good as Cakebread!!!! My husband, the ultimate red-wine snob, and who wouldn’t pick up a glass of white wine, unless it was on his death bed, and nothing else was available, including Diet Pepsi, was very impressed as well. We immediaetly bought 2-bottles for only $13.99 a bottle, which we considered a fantastic buy. If I can get it for $9 a bottle, even better (of course, we’ll see what shipping is.)Buy, buy, buy, you won’t be disapoint4d.