California Chardonnays Under $10

Have you ever rediscovered a close friend after a long-ago parting of the ways? Maybe the breakup was due to a political argument, or to a lifestyle choice, or even to something as silly as forgetting a birthday. But somehow, when you meet again, it's like nothing ever happened, and you spend hours together laughing, maybe even crying, and just reminiscing about the good old days. (Alas, how quick we were, in our youth, to make mountains out of molehills.)

Well, I must admit that, in the late 80's, inexpensive California Chards and I split up. I just couldn't cope with all their oak bravado or their occasional, overly sweet butterscotch sneers. I wanted a true wine. So for the longest time, I eschewed these budget Chards and tasted them condescendingly only when I had to. After all, I had to remain true to my enological convictions.

However, as fellow wine lovers kept telling me how much these wines had improved and were always recommending one or two new discoveries, I started to soften. Moreover, because late August typically brings a wealth of home-grown vegetables to the table, I was looking for wines that would go well with vegetarian fare on a hot summer night. So I thought, why not? Let's give bargain Chards a second chance, but I insisted that they had to be real values, under $10.

With these menu and budget objectives in mind, a friend and I visited a local New York wine store. To my surprise, we found more than a dozen selections in our price category--some were as low as $4.99. In fact, if our price point had been just a dollar or two more, we could have chosen from at least two dozen. But we settled on nine wines that we thought might complement our pot-luck vegetarian menu of Spaghetti a la Carrettiera (spaghetti with a sauce made from olive oil, garlic, fennel seed, and hot pepper flakes), a plate of vine-ripened tomatoes with fresh mozzarella, a spinach focaccia, and a mixed salad with baby greens, fennel, goat cheese, and pecans.

We tasted the nine wines first by themselves and then with the food. I am pleased to report that my reunion with these wines was delightful; their quality exceeded all my expectations. Even the least expensive made quite a splash with all the tasters. Although these wines may lack the complexity, depth, and age worthiness of their more expensive counterparts either from California or abroad, they nonetheless have many qualities, which are set forth in our tasting notes, that make them a fine choice for everyday drinking.

Keep in mind that there are also plenty of great affordable Chardonnays available these days from Chile, Argentina, Australia, and France. When shopping for value wines, whether imported or domestic, look for the most recent vintages; avoid bottles that are more than two to three years old. More often than not, you'll be disappointed with close outs and bin ends in this price range.

To get the most flavor from affordable Chardonnays, avoid serving them overly chilled. If these wines are served too cold, they'll appear rather tasteless and vapid. The fruitier and fuller bodied wines go well with rich dishes like lobster Newburg or eggs Benedict or with any dishes that have rich cream sauces. The light to medium bodied Chardonnays go well with simply prepared poultry and seafood and perhaps even with a nice omelet.

2000 Vendange, Chardonnay, California ($4.99)
Very pale straw in color, this wine has a pleasant nose of vanilla and lemon with some creamy notes. Light bodied, it delivers lemon and apple flavors and has a nice mouthfeel with a bit of unctuousness. The finish is quite good with vanilla extract notes. Given its price, this is an outstanding value. It was very good with the pasta. A star of the tasting.

1999 Callaway, Chardonnay "Coastal," California ($7.99)
This wine is pale straw in color and has a pleasant nose of vanilla and butterscotch with some hints of dried apricot. Medium bodied with good acidity, this wine is uncomplicated and delivers dry butterscotch flavors from start to finish. A "one note" wine remarked one taster. It has a good finish with butterscotch flavors and just a hint of tartness. This wine was OK with the pasta, but would have been better with a roast chicken.

2000 Canyon Road, Chardonnay, California ($7.99)
Pale gold with green hues, this wine's nose might be characterized by green apples and litchi nuts. Medium bodied with nice acidity, it delivers loads of pineapple flavors with some vanilla and citrus. There are some buttery notes as well. It has a good finish that continues with the pineapple flavors. This wine was good with both the pasta and the mozzarella and tomatoes.

1999 Talus, Chardonnay, California ($8.99)
Pale gold in color, this wine has an intriguing crème brulée nose with some forward oak notes. Light to medium bodied, it has a creamy texture and is packed with oak and cream flavors with some hints of vanilla. The oak carries through to the dry finish. One taster found the wine overly oaked. The back label claims that this wine goes well with Chinese spring rolls. We had some on hand and found the claim to be valid.

2000 Geyser Peak, Chardonnay, Sonoma County ($9.99)
Pale straw in color, this wine shows green apples on the nose together with some hints of vanilla and oak. It's an attractive nose. Light bodied with big lemon citrus flavors, the wine has nice acidity and an unctuous mouthfeel. This is a well structured wine and the flavors linger. It also has a good toasty finish. This wine was outstanding with the garlicy pasta. Definitely, a star of this tasting.

2000 Meridian Vineyards, Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County ($9.99)
Pale straw in color, this wine has a rather odd, atypical nose for Chardonnay of sweet sautéed onion. There are some hints of peach and white oak as well. It's light bodied and a bit unctuous on the palate with sweet onion and Granny Smith apple flavors. It has a long finish that goes from lemon to oak. Quite good with the pasta.

1999 Hess Select, Chardonnay, California ($9.99)
Pale gold in color, this wine has a creamy buttery nose. 'Rich," commented one taster.
On the tongue, it's medium bodied and buttery and has good acidity for food. This is a well balanced wine and delivers lingering flavors of butter, green apples, and lemon citrus. It has a good citrus finish. This wine stood up well to the pasta's strong garlic and fennel flavors. Another star of this tasting.

2000 Estancia, Chardonnay "Pinnacles," Monterey ($9.99)
Pale gold in color, this wine has a coy marzipan nose of almonds. On the palate, it's medium bodied and delivers green apple and lemon flavors with some interesting mineral notes. The finish is quite good with notes of lemon and oak. Good with the pasta.

2000 Bogle Vineyards, Chardonnay, California ($9.99)
Pale straw in color, this wine has a clean oak and butter nose. Medium bodied, it has a seductive entry that starts with oak and vanilla, then turns to lemon, and finally to butterscotch. It also has a good acidity and a nice tart finish. The most complex wine of this tasting. One taster called it a "classy Chardonnay at a bargain price." This wine presented a counterpoint to the pasta. Another star of this tasting. If you're looking for a great house wine, this might be it.

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TableWine is a personal website and does not sell any wine. However, many of the wines we review are purchased from our local wine merchant, Wine & Spirit World. Their web site may help you locate a good number of our selections. You might also use the database of quality wine merchants at Wine Searcher.com to help find wines that are difficult to locate. Finally, if your local wine store does not carry a wine that you've read about here, don't hesitate to ask them to order a bottle or two for you. For imported wines, you may need to supply them with the name of the importer or distributor.

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