Trader Joe's Petit Reserve Chardonnay Mendocino County 2012

Mendocino County is north of Sonoma County on the Pacific Coast of California. The western portion of the county is influenced by cool coastal fog and breezes and is the source of terrific Chardonnay.

The TJ's Petit Reseve Chardonnay is an unoaked Chardonnay from this region. I find it a dry, crisp wine with a clean, mineral flavored finish. There is a definite citris flavor but I did not detect the butterscotch overtone promised on the bottle. I had recently opened another unoaked chardonnay and decided to compare them. The TJ's chardonnay cost $7 and the other unoaked chardonnay was $11. Although they were different, I could not pick a favorite.

If unoaked chardonnay is your favorite style of white wine, I think you should give this a try.

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