Tall Sage 2015 Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, $13
Best Buy! Arvid Monson took the advice of Walter Clore, who prompted the rancher and fruit grower to devote some of his land in the eastern reaches of the Yakima Valley to wine grapes. In 1997, Clore suggested Monson “find a tall sage,” and that led to Goose Ridge Vineyards – a 2,500-acre planting in a region known as Goose Gap. Monson died in 2014 at age 73, and this consumer-minded second label adds to his legacy. The Chardonnay by winemaker Andrew Wilson is a polar opposite side of the California style, opening with a garden full of flowers, lemon, apple, river rock and coriander. Those notes make their way to the palate with a beautiful mouth feel of Asian pear and nectarine that’s capped by lemony acidity.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 9,000 cases
Alcohol: 14.2%
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