The Miner Winery is a relative newcomer to the Napa Valley scene.  In just a few years Miner has become synonymous with style and class.  While in Napa we enjoyed a ridiculously, amazingly, expensive bottle of “Oracle” a Bordeaux style red wine that was outrageously good.   It was this wine that seduced me and Jen into taking to the trip to their winery, which for Jen was an awful lot of fun.  Sadly, I was designated driver on that particular day!

While at Miner, of course I bought a number of wines, one of them was a 2009 Chardonnay. 

Things that people don’t like about Chardonnay’s, I love!  Too buttery, the more buttery the better, too oaky, leave in that barrel for a decade, too heavy, bring it on.  I love heavy, toasty, buttery, oaky Chardonnay’s and the Miner Chardonnay did not fail.

A pale gold color, so much lighter than you would expect from this powerful wine.  This Chardonnay has scents of apple and citrus and you can almost smell butter.  Its aroma is also toasty, very oaky and rich.  

“It is fermented and aged in 45% new French oak, Malolactic conversion was held at 50% to balance the flavor profile.”   

At first taste there is vanilla, cream and ripe melon.  It is soft and smooth on the palate and remains that way for quite some time.  I think this wine deserves food.  I truly felt like it needed a companion so that is what I did.  I made myself a late dinner, supper if you will of poached salmon and asparagus with lemon, olive oil and rock salt –yum.  The wine was perfect with this dish.  It was so good I had to try a second glass just make sure.  I was right.  This is a deliciously seductive Chardonnay, especially with a nice piece of salmon!

My Rating…

3.5-Glasses

 

 

 

 

Tracey