The 2010 Honey Bunch Chardonnay is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from vineyards in California’s North Coast, which encompass 6 Northern California Counties and 46 grape growing AVA’s including Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino. The back labels says this wine was produced by Sugar Pie Honey Bunch Cellars, which tells you more about what song was on the radio when they were coming up with a name, than who actually made the wine. The alcohol content is 12.5%.
The color is a shiny, pale, golden yellow. The nose is peach, citrus, a hint of melon and finishing with a very pretty floral scent. With a name like Honey Bunch, I thought this Chardonnay might be on the sugary sweet side, but it’s not at all. It starts with rounded fresh peach and apple, followed by lime and sour grapefruit, with a light butterscotch and butter finish. Not a complex wine, but what is there tastes good and is actually interesting. There is balanced acidity running throughout the body of the wine, so this is a 6 buck Chardonnay that will pair well with food. The Honey Bunch Chardonnay tastes great, has decent structure and is cheap. Cheap and tastes great is a very good thing.
