St. Francis Sonoma County Chardonnay 2017

Synopsis, Our Opinion: A vanilla dominated California Chardonnay.

Producer/Winery: St. Francis Winery and Vineyard; Santa Rosa, California.

Grape Variety: Chardonnay.

Geographic Appellation,, Region, Country: Sonoma County; North coast, California.

Vintage: 2017

Price: $9.99 (with a 30% mixed 6-pack discount)

Purchased From: Ralph’s Grocery Store; Agoura Hills, California.

Paired With: Greek chicken.

Tasting:

Note: This year while in California we are reviewing a substantial number of wines sold in grocery stores. This review is one of them. To see all of the grocery store wine reviews look under the keyword “Grocery Store Wines”.

Chilled before drinking. Clear, very light wheat straw color. Musty and earthy pear and freshly sawed oak aromas. Smooth and a sligtly creamy mouthfeel, medium to full body and a 150-grit texture. Strong flavors including vanilla, tart apple, lemon, guava and Florida grapefruit. Crisp acidity and a long very bitter pear and apple tasting finish. WOW, one word describes this wine…VANILLA!!! An “old school” California Chardonnay with lots of vanilla and tart tastes. It’s been a long time since we’ve had this kind of Chardonnay and it’s really out of step, even for California Chardonnay. Unless your still into Chardonnay that tastes like the vanilla flavor was added we suggest you steer clear of this one. However these tastes must still appeal to many Chardonnay drinkers and we called it a One-Thumb-Up vanilla dominated California Chardonnay.