Eris Chardonnay Carneros Estate 2014

The October 2016 Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer arrived in my e-mail yesterday and my snail mail today. One of the featured wines is the Eris Carneros Estate Napa Valley Chardonnay. The grapes are said to be from a single estate on the Napa Side of Carneros. I have previously written about the breezes and fog from San Francisco Bay creating a climate of warm days and cool nights in Carneros that is well suited to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes.

The Flyer describes the wine as buttery and rich with a creamy mouthful and that is not my favorite style of Chardonnay. I prefer a crisper wine, aged is stainless steel or neutral oak. After tasting this wine, I do agree that the wine is creamy and soft but I cannot say it is rich and buttery. From my perspective, I am glad that it did not taste buttery to me. This is really a high quality wine, even if it is not my favorite style. An unusual taste, that was immediately noted by both my wife and me was ginger. It reminded me of a non-carbonated ginger ale.

At $13.99, this is at the upper price range for a Trader Joe's wine but you would typically pay more than that for an estate grown Carneros Chardonnay. If you are open to Chardonnay in a less crisp style, I would definitely recommend this to you.

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