Home   >   Latest wine reviews   >   Browne Family Vineyards 2014 Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, $30

Browne Family Vineyards 2014 Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, $30

By on April 1, 2016

browne-family-vineyards-chardonnay-2014-bottleThere aren’t as many of these reserve-style versions of Chardonnay produced in the Pacific Northwest as there once were, but John Freeman’s work in Walla Walla on behalf of Precept Wine CEO Andrew Browne ranks among the region’s best. It starts with fruit from Sagemoor, Oasis and the estate planting Canyon Vineyard Ranch before winemaker’s barrel program of two-thirds new French oak. Hence, the nose is one of toast and butter with lemon, pineapple, Gala apple and Circus Peanut candy — a wave from the Viognier (5%). On the palate, its weight is lovely with a hedonistic mouth feel that brings sweet pineapple and apple flavors. Butter and vanilla on the midpalate show a nice integration of oak that leads out with a spring of mint and a nibble of apple peel. Production of this increased 50 percent from the 2013 vintage, which is a good thing, and enjoy with a fried chicken dinner or Spaghetti Carbonara.

Rating: Outstanding!

Production: 1,427 cases

Alcohol: 14.2%

Winery website

Subscribe to Thursday’s Wine of the Week newsletter

About Great Northwest Wine

Articles authored by Great Northwest Wine are co-authored by Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *