Urraca Argentinian Chardonnay 5-Pack
$64.99 $142.00 54% off List Price
2008 Urraca Chardonnay, Mendoza, Argentina
CT link above
I saved the 1/2 we didn’t drink in a full 375ml for the socal wooters for tomorrow. If any of you were interested in trying this.
My notes from tonight,
5/2/2014
PNP right out of the fridge this wine is a clear golden yellow with no noticeable sediment. The nose showed some oak but not nearly what i was expecting since the bottle noted that it was stored in all new french oak for 6 months. Primary notes where pineapple, toasted coconut and green apple. With wet stone and lime in the background. As the wine warmed the tropical fruit flavors became more pronounced.
On the palate the wine is fresh, dry and medium bodied. The pineapple notes give it a twinge of sweetness so I would be interested to see what the RS number on this wine is. The nose carries through into the palate quite nicely and the same flavors are all present. The finish is medium and a bit tart but that may be due to a nice acid balance. The wine is not buttery at all and was some what surprising. It actually reminded me of the wellington chard but with more tropical fruit and a bit more oak.
I think it would go well with light foods and definitely a cheese platter. The oak usage is really nice as i was expecting it to be way overdone. My wife typically does not like chard and liked this one to my surprise and I think it was due to the zero butteryness and nice but not overdone fruit extraction and acidity. To me this is a well balanced chardonnay that is a little different from typical California chardonnay that we are so accustomed to. We both recommend it to anyone who likes stainless steel whites and is looking for something a little different that has a little more weight to it from what they usually drink. The age maybe affected the color making it a little more golden but the wine seemed to have plenty of life left in it. My guess is winery price of $25 a bottle and woot price of $15 a bottle. We both thought it was a solid buy at $15.
2008 Urraca Chardonnay
PnP. Pale golden in color. Banana and apricot on the nose. Palate is fresh, if not a bit tart on initial opening. Palate has an oily feel on the front palate, but finishes clean and short. Medium acid. There is tropical fruit, particularly apricot, on the palate and a bit of muskiness that I can’t place. Leaning towards forest floor vibe I get from pinots, but to a lesser degree. A bit of that on the nose as well.
After an hour open and the wine slightly warmed, the nose is pretty much the same as the PnP, with predominant banana/trop fruit and apricot. Starting to pick up on subtle hints of oak on the nose and less so on the palate. Short + finish. There is a component of wet stone/slate that is hard to place. I wouldn’t categorize it as minerality (at least not how I interpret it) because its not a zing on the sides of the tongue.
This is a good chard, but a different style that we are used to. Found it quite interesting and more complexity than just an average quaffer. I think it would stand up to food, but didn’t have a pairing for this. It has good heft and weight on the midpalate. This is a good bottle at $15.
One side note. The cork was extremely hard on this bottle, rock hard. Had to switch to an ah-so to get it out of the bottle as it was simply shredding with the corkscrew. This could have been a one off problem though. Didn’t affect the wine at all.
Thanks to cortot and trifecta for the detailed tasting notes, nice work! Sounds like this has held up well for a 2008 Chard. It’s interesting to try common varietals from uncommon places and they almost always have a unique flair to them.
Thanks to wine.woot I have recently tasted Italian Cabernet, Spanish Syrah and Argentinian Pinot Noir. If I hadn’t sprung for that case of Toccata yesterday, I’d be in on this offer.
I wish we had an Argentinian “RPM” to hook us up with a tour of Mendoza! That is right near the top of my list for a future vacation.
Id be up for a split on this if any SoCal folks are interested.
I quite liked the Urraca Primera Reserva Malbec from earlier, even reordered,
and would take two of these off your hands.
Deal. I’ll order.
But I will wait until after you have tried it this afternoon.
Great notes! Where did you get that booklet that helps take notes on wine? I’d love to find a copy.
Enough and the right kind if notes from wooters I trust. Right price point. Low on whites. I’m in. Shipping to SWMBO. Points to me 