OK. Let me start out by saying this: I prefer red wine, but if I'm going to drink white, I'm drinking chardonnay. I'm not an ABC (anything but chardonnay) type of girl. Well, maybe this is an unfair statement. I'll try anything once. Perverts, keep your minds out of the gutter. I'm talking wine here.
I picked up this type of school-night wine at Stew Leonard's (God help me, I think I keep them in business) for $9.99. It fulfills my 10-bucks-or-less requirement, which I think is so important when reviewing cheap wine. The economy is bad, dammit! There should be more quality wines for under ten bucks on the market, if you ask me.
This chard came highly recommended at Stew's, so I had high hopes for it. I poured two glasses: one into the traditional all-purpose wine glass, the other into the fancy red champagne coupe for makeshift decanting. On the nose, this chard smells like a traditional, oakey chard, much like any other oak-aged chard worth twice its price or more. It's got a few legs on the glass, heavier than an ordinary white wine. Interesting. I like heavier wines. It's a personal thing.
On the first glass, I wasn't really impressed with this wine. It was kinda ho-hum, in its own way. Nothing spectacular, but nothing bad, either. It was an ordinary little wine. I was a little disappointed - it came so highly recommended! BOO!
Then, after waiting about a half hour, I tried the "decanted" glass in the wine coupe.
What a difference! It was smooth, silky & full-bodied. Now THIS is the type of chard I like to drink: buttery, oakey, not sharp. (By the way, what is the opposite of sharp? Smooth? I guess I said that already.) If I'm gonna stray to the white side, this is the type of chard I like to drink on a budget. Mission accomplished.
Thumbs up to St. Francis! They've made a pretty decent chardonnay to drink for under ten bucks. You can't argue with the logic there. I mean, I'm not a professional wine taster, but I know a pretty good wine when I taste it. This is a wine that I would definitely purchase & crack open again.
I would recommend decanting this one, though. An hour in the decanter & this one will blow the roof off.
In case you're interested, this wine is currently sitting on the counter, with the wine stopper that Julie bought me for my bridal shower firmly in place. Next time my husband is out of town (like he is tonight - he & his good buddy are going to see a Nets game in New Jersey), I'm going to take the whole bottle of this wine & decant it. It'll be worth the wait.
Cheers!
Kate
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