What is it with Monterey Chardonnay?  Something about the cool climate produces Chardonnay with complexity and richness but with a cutting acid that keeps everything in balance.  The 2008 Bernardus Chardonnay is one of the best examples I’ve had this year, and at $16.95 it’s a great value from one of Chardonnay’s best regions.  In fact, 2008 seems to have been a better Chardonnay vintage in Monterey than it was in Napa and Sonoma.

That crisp acid and rich oak made this wine a perfect accompaniment to one of my favorite easy dinners, Sicilian pasta.  I attempted to do a video of how to make this pasta.  So the video wasn’t too long, I chopped everything in advance and preheated the oil in the pan.   Unfortunately I got the oil too hot and nearly caught my kitchen on fire.  I’ll attempt the video again, but in the meantime,  here’s how to make this simple, 20 minute dinner:

Sicilian Pasta Recipe

Finely chop three cloves of garlic and a small handful of fresh herbs (I like to use thyme, oregano and basil from my garden).

Cook your pasta (I like to use penne or bow ties) and drain the water.

Open a small tin of anchovies, drain the olive oil into the pasta and stir.  Set aside.

Lightly cover the bottom of a hot pan with olive oil and add the anchovies.  Chop the anchovies up with a rubber spatula until they melt completely into the olive oil leaving only very small pieces.

Add the garlic and 5-6 pinches of chopped fresh herbs to the hot oil and remove from the heat.

Add the pasta into the pan and mix until it’s coated with the oil/anchovy/herb mix.

Dress with red chili flakes, Parmesan cheese and the rest of the herbs to taste.

This pasta is delicious, healthy and perfect with a crisp Chardonnay.  Don’t let the full can of anchovies deter you from trying this.  If you like the amount of anchovy flavor in Caesar dressing, you’ll like this pasta.  And if you like Chardonnay, you’ll like this wine!

Buy Here: 2008 Bernardus Chardonnay $16.95

Wine Spectator 92 points

“Bold, rich and layered, with a medley of smoky fig, toasty oak, hazelnut and roasted marshmallow flavors that are pure, focused, intense and concentrated, with a long, persistent finish. Drink now through 2015. 22,380 cases made.”

Call it daily drinker week on Nickel and Dime Wine.  First it was yesterday’s $9 Malbec and today we have a fantastic Chardonnay for $12.  With hundreds of California Chardonnays in the $10-15 price range, how do you choose a good one?  Well this is a good place to start (duh).  Seriously, if you’re going to a dinner party or just in the store looking for a good bottle of California Chardonnay without spending a ton, here are 3 simple rules that should help you come out with a winner.

1. Look for these appellation designations on the label: Santa Barbara County (Santa Rita Hills, Santa Maria Valley), Sonoma (Russian River Valley), Monterey (Santa Lucia Highlands) and Carneros.  Those are the best places to grow Chardonnay grapes in this great, bankrupt state.  If the label says “estate” it scores even more bonus points because this means the grapes were grown by the winery and never left the site until after the wine was bottled.

2.  Avoid generic bottlings that are only designated with “California” or “North Coast”.  Often times this means that the winery is buying grapes from all over the place with little quality control, and possibly from vineyards where they measure success in pounds rather than quality.  Good values can definitely be found with these non-appellation wines, but you better know what you’re looking for.  “Central Coast” gets a pass on this one because many of the great Chardonnay appellations lie in the Central Coast.

3. Look at the score. If you’ve never tasted a particular wine before, the score is a great place to start.  Just beware of wine shops that try to pass their own scores off as professional.  News flash- they might be a little bias…  Wine Advocate (a.k.a. Robert Parker, RP or WA), International Wine Cellar (a.k.a. Stephen Tanzer, ST or IWC), and Wine Spectator (a.k.a. WS) are the most reliable.

So following these simple rules how does the Talbott Kali Hart Chardonnay come out?  Pretty well of course.  Otherwise I wouldn’t have written the article this way!  1.) It’s from Monterrey with bonus points for being from the sub appellation of Santa Lucia Highlands and the word “estate” on the label.  2.) No generic “California” label and 3.) it scored 87 points from Robert Parker, a good score for such a reasonably priced wine.

Beyond all of those great factors, the wine tastes great with an alluring nose, a nice, sweet ripeness and a round, full mouthfeel.  For $12, I can’t think of a better value.

Buy Here: 2008 Talbott Kali Hart Chardonnay $11.95

Wine Advocate 87 points

“Take, for example, the 2008 Chardonnay Kali Hart. It displays loads of poached pear, pineapple, and honey in an impressively perfumed bouquet. In the mouth, it is soft, fleshy, and medium-bodied, with just enough acidity to give it balance. It is a fruity, consumer-friendly style of Chardonnay to drink over the next year.

This is the most impressive lineup of wines I have seen from Talbott in a number of years. Their less expensive second label is a noteworthy value.”

The Santa Lucia Highlands AVA in Monterey county produces some of the country’s best Chardonnay due to its cool temperatures and long growing season.  Talbott combined those elements in perfect harmony to make their 2008 Chardonnay from a selection of their large Sleepy Hollow Vineyard.  Ironically, the more expensive “Sleepy Hollow Vineyard” designated Chardonnay from Talbott was rated one point lower, making this an even better value for those who like a modern, oaky style of Chardonnay, without being over-the-top.

This wine is creamy on the palate with a band of acid cutting through on the finish.  The 16-35 year old vines, from which this wine was created, make for rich, deeply concentrated flavors as well as a reasonably high 15.1% alcohol level that is seamlessly integrated.  The new oak is also well integrated but present in a complementary way.

Talbott seems to be on a great trajectory, making wines that would cost twice as much if they were produced up the road in Sonoma or Napa.

Here are a couple of other Chardonnay values from Talbott:

2008  Kali Hart Chardonnay $11.95 (WA87)

2008 Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Chardonnay $27.95 (WA91)

If high-end, highly rated Chardonnay is your thing, you can’t go wrong with Talbott’s 2008 Logan.

Buy Here: 2008 Talbott Logan Chardonnay $15.95

Wine Advocate 92 points

“The 2008 Chardonnay Logan (a selection from the Sleepy Hollow Vineyard) is a slightly fruitier, more structured style of Chardonnay from Talbott. Light straw-colored, the wine displays notes of nectarine, kiwi, orange marmalade, honey, and subtle oak. Cutting a broad swath across the palate, it is full-bodied, rich, and impressively endowed. It is the best Talbott Chardonnay in a number of years.

This is the most impressive lineup of wines I have seen from Talbott in a number of years. Their less expensive second label is a noteworthy value.”

Most of the grapes grown in Napa, or any region for that matter, aren’t planted, maintained, and harvested by the company that ultimately brings the wine you drink to market.  Rather, most grapes are grown and then sold, by the ton, to producers large and small.  Markets actually exist for grapes just like corn, soybeans or pork bellies.  In fact, some of the most famous and popular wines in the country, names like Silver Oak, Cakebread and Caymus, use purchased grapes for at least a portion of their wines.

Those wines carry generic appellation names (Napa) which allows the wineries to source grapes from anywhere in the county.  But a growing trend is single vineyard designated wines, whether they be from an estate’s own vineyards, or as in this case, from a vineyard managed by a third party.  Some of the most famous and high quality vineyards in the country are independently owned and managed, selling all of their grapes to high-end producers like Levendi (think Stagecoach, To-Kalon, Hyde and many others).

Levendi purchased the grapes for this fantastic 2008 Chardonnay from one of the Laird Family’s vineyards called Red Hen.  It’s located in the Oak Knoll AVA where cool winds make for a perfect climate for Chardonnay.  This is textbook Napa Chardonnay- rich, buttery but with a nice acid balance that keeps it crisp.  Single vineyard wines possess a uniqueness that blends can’t achieve, and that’s what I really like about this Chardonnay.  At $20 it’s in an odd price point, higher than a daily drinker (at least for me), but below splurge territory.  Put that aside and give this one a try.  I think you will find that it’s an incredible value and you will enjoy tasting the uniqueness of Red Hen Vineyard.

Buy Here: 2008 Levendi Chardonnay Red Hen Vineyard

Do you like subtle, clean, stainless steel Chardonnay?  If so do not buy this wine.  On the other hand, if you are like me and prefer the rich, oaky, barrel fermented version, Trinitas has yet another fantastic value with their 2009 vintage Chardonnay from Carneros.  Carneros, which spans Napa and Sonoma on Napa’s southwest side, is to Chardonnay what Oakville is to Cabernet.  In a word (or three)- the perfect climate.  The cooler climate created by the maritime influence of San Palo Bay is perfect for growing Chardonnay grapes and this AVA tends to produce the most expensive Chardonnay coming out of Napa and Sonoma.

This wine has a complexity rarely found in a $20 Chardonnay.  The toasty oak in which this wine was aged makes for a fragrant, smokey nose and a rich buttery texture.  The complexity of this wine is serious.  It reminds me of a cross between Rombauer and Beringer Private Reserve, which is putting this $20 wine in pretty esteemed company.  Trinitas has a history of making some fantastic values.  Their Oakville Cabernet for $25 is awesome, and this Chardonnay is equally as good.

2009 is looking like another 2007 quality vintage for California.  We are really lucky to have only one or two less than stellar vintages per decade in this state.  Go to France and you have to turn that equation on it’s head- they have only one or two great vintage per decade.  Watch for more great values emerging from 2009 as more wineries release their whites this year and their reds in the next two years.

2009 Trinitas Chardonnay Carneros $19.95

Hahn Estates is making some of the best values coming out of California.  I’ve already written about their fantastic Meritage which is now available in the 2008 vintage.  Tonight we’re drinking the 2008 Chardonnay which easily performs 2x its price.  It’s always great to find a label you can trust year after year and, for the last three vintages, Hahn has been one of those labels.

If you’re in to the smokey, oaky style of Chardonnay, you are going to like this wine.  It’s buttery but has a crisp acidity to cut through and create a nice balance.  It’s lacking some of the deep complexity that you might find in a $30 Chardonnay but it’s only $8.99 and, at that price, I can only think of one other wine on this level, which is the San Simeon Chardonnay, also from Monterey.  That wine isn’t available anymore, but this is a strong challenger.

If you’re looking for a house Chardonnay, this would be a perfect fit.  We had it tonight with salmon tacos and it went perfectly.  It’s the perfect excuse to drink wine on a Tuesday night!

Buy Here: Hahn Estates Chardonnay 2008- $8.99

Wine Enthusiast 86 points

“Quite a nice Chardonnay, especially at this price. it’s elegant and crisp, with a mineral undertow to the pineapple, buttered toast and honeysuckly flavors. Easy to like for its balance.”

Beringer’s Private Reserve program, hands down, makes some of the best wines coming out of Napa, and they do it at reasonable prices.  In January 2008 Beringer’s head winemaker, Ed Sbragia, transitioned to a consultant role leaving his protégé, Laurie Hook in charge.  If the 2008 vintage of the Chardonnay is any indication, she is doing a fantastic job because this is by far the best 2008 Chardonnay I’ve tasted.

I try to feature wines that are perennial values and Beringer’s Private Reserve Chardonnay (and Cabernet for that matter) is another one of those wines.  A blend from multiple Napa vineyards, it’s rich and buttery with a unique smoky nose.  An oily mouthfeel is complemented by crisp citric acid and an exceptional finish.  To my taste, this is the best Chardonnay under $30 and I haven’t had a better example under $50 in recent memory.

This past week I had the pleasure of dining at Gramercy Tavern in New York.  I brought a 1999 Broman Cabernet and a 2003 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet.  I really wish I had brought this Chardonnay instead of the Broman (which is a great wine), because it would have been perfect for the seafood-heavy early courses and likely would have blown away any of the $100 bottles of California Chardonnay on their menu.  Plus it’s always fun to try multiple varietals from the same winery.

This has been a write up of the 2008 vintage of Beringer’s Private Reserve Chardonnay but it could have been of any vintage.  I’m sure the 2009 will be just as good, if not better.  This wine usually sells for well over $30 so $27.95 is a heck of a deal.

Buy Here: 2008 Beringer Private Reserve Chardonnay- $27.95

Robert Parker 94 points

“The 2008 Chardonnay Private Reserve continues the success Beringer has enjoyed with this program. Notes of brioche, hazelnut, marmalade, honeyed tropical fruits, buttered citrus, and a gentle touch of smoke are found in this full-bodied, concentrated wine with impressive purity, depth, and length. It should drink well for 4-5 years.

As I have written in the past, Beringer offers between 200-250 cases of each of their single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons that go into their Private Reserve program. Interestingly, as good as the single vineyard cuvees tend to be, and they’re all very different, the Private Reserve blend is as good or better than the finest single vineyard, demonstrating that the blending process is essential and important.”

Landmark’s Overlook Chardonnay is one of those wines that’s just great every year.  It’s nice to have those bottles that, in a crunch or on a restaurant menu, you know will always be good, regardless of the vintage.  Case in point, this Chardonnay has received a 90 or higher rating from one or more of the major publications for every vintage since 2001.  At $20 it’s kind of in the middle price range that wineries avoid- the the high end of daily drinker territory but not splurge territory either.  Don’t let that hold you back.  This is better than many $40 Chardonnays out there.

The ’07 Landmark Overlook Chardonnay strikes a nice balance between malolactic fermentation richness and acidity.  It’s a balance that many winemakers aren’t able to achieve but it’s magic when they do.  The acidity comes through on the nose with bright flavors of green apple and tangerine.  It tastes rich and buttery, if not oaky, and the acid reemerges on the finish, keeping it focused and clean.

One of the reasons Landmark Overlook is great every year is that they don’t restrict themselves to one vineyard or appellation.  This year most of the grapes come from Sonoma with 20% coming from Santa Barbara and Monterey.  Owned by the great granddaughter of John Deere, Landmark follows the same mantra as as the iconic tractor company; quality products at reasonable prices.

LA Wine Co. has the 2007 Chardonnay in half bottles and fulls.  The half bottles are actually half the price of the fulls, which is pretty rare, so pick up an assortment!

Buy Here :  2007 Landmark Overlook Chardonnay $19.95

375 ML $9.95

Wine Spectator 92 points

“Green apple, floral, lime and citrus blossom scents give this full-bodied Chardonnay a distinctive edge. Crisp and flinty, ending with wet stone. Drink now through 2012. 18,000 cases made.”

Robert Parker 90 points

“The 2007 Chardonnay Overlook (most from Sonoma County with about 20% from Santa Barbara and Monterey) offers a beautiful bouquet of peaches, pineapples, and other tropical fruits along with super-purity and focus. Medium to full-bodied, crisp, and pure, with the oak pushed to the background, this beautiful Chardonnay can be enjoyed over the next several years.

The always reliable Landmark winery continues to turn out a bevy of Burgundian-styled Pinot Noirs and impressive Chardonnays. One of the best Chardonnay values in the marketplace is their Overlook.”

When we pulled up to the front gate of Nickel and Nickel’s Oakville Winery and pushed the call button to open the gates, we knew we were in for a premium experience with some premium wines.  As we walked through the front entrance (pictured above) we were greeted with a glass of Nickel & Nickel’s 2008 Truchard Vineyard Chardonnay on a silver platter (literally).  While waiting in the parlor room, we took in the vintage furnishings of the perfectly restored 1884 vineyard house.  Every structure on the property has been perfectly restored to better than original condition but with a specific effort to stay true to the original.

Originally founded by John C. Sullenger in the 1880′s, Gil Nickel purchased the property in 1998 with two goals in mind: pay tribute to John Sullenger’s farmstead vision and create a premium winery for the production of single vineyard wines.  He was successful on both fronts.  Both the property and the wines are exceptional.  Gil made his money in the nursery business (trees not children).  Every winery story starts similarly.  It seems like starting a winery is a great way to spend money but not really make money, because none of the stories feature the founder getting rich from making great wine.

The barn pictured to the right was originally built in 1770 in New Hampshire and was purchased by Gil Nickel from that original farm when it was about to be burned down, disassembled, shipped across the county, and reassembled using the original construction techniques.  The barn now contains a banquet table, kitchen and glass enclosed offices but retains the original post and beam construction.  It’s really a spectacular modern twist on the original barn.

Next we moved on through the fermentation barn, a new structure built in the ancient post and beam technique.  Nickel and Nickel has a unique challenge since they make 27 single vineyard wines, requiring many more tanks since the wine must be fermented independently.

They are also one of the very few valley wineries that feature a “cave” because there are no mountains into which the cave can be dug.  This one is actually under the barn but once down there, it’s the same as being in the side of any mountain on the perimeter of the valley.  The cave actually provides an economic benefit for the winery because air conditioning isn’t required for the extensive barrel aging.  Nickel and Nickel is 100% solar powered keeping with an admirable trend toward green winemaking in Napa Valley.

Sitting on the back porch of the winery, taking in the scenery, it’s easy to see why Gil Nickel wanted to restore this property.  It’s a stunning setting to grow, create, and drink fantastic single vineyard wines.  I’m not going to write specific notes on each of the six Cabernets we tasted but all were very good and a couple were exceptional.  The 2007 Vogt Vineyard from Howell Mountain and the 2007 John C. Sullenger Vineyard Cabernets (grown on the adjacent 30 acres) were standouts.  At $90-120 a bottle, these are not cheap or even value priced wines, but they are collectible, highly rated and ageworthy.  The tour and tasting are $40 per person, on the high end of the spectrum, but for the right occasion, it’s definitely worth the money. Make this one your splurge and you won’t be disappointed.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this but I love Santa Barbara Chardonnays.  So much so that I have six of Fess Parker’s ‘coon  skin hat engraved wine glasses- an ode to his days playing Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone in the ’50′ s and ’60′s.  Sadly, we lost Fess on March 18th of this year (my dad is shedding a tear right now), but his legacy lives on in some of Santa Barbara county’s best Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs.

Super rich and oaky, this is the antithesis to the stainless steel, no malolactic fermentation Chardonnay that’s stylish now.  This is not what you would call subtle, but sometimes subtle is just an excuse to make boring wine.  For $13.95, this is one of the best values currently on the market.

If you live in the L.A. area make it a point to visit the Fess Parker winery on Foxen Canyon Road in Santa Barbara wine country.  Some might call it “commercial” but it’s a beautifully manicured property that has some of the best wines in the county.  On the weekends they make some killer tri-tip tacos that you can eat while walking the vineyards.  My favorite part- with your $10 tasting you get a nice crystal glass engraved with the Fess Parker logo.  Wouldn’t it be nice if they still did that in Napa?!

Buy Here: 2008 Fess Parker Chardonnay $13.95

Wine Enthusiast 93 points

“Run, don’t walk to buy up cases of this beautiful, well-priced Chardonnay. It’s rich and sumptuous in vanilla oak and lees-inspired flavors of pineapples, pears and lime tart. Easy to find, with production of 17, 496 cases.”