The California Roots Chardonnay 2016 is Targets 5 dollar answer to Trader Joe’s 2 Buck Chuck. It’s a little bit more expensive than Charles Shaw wines ( $2.99 in Illinois) and that $2.01 may be well spent. There may well be a too low price for wine, especially Red wine. Many White grape wines, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Chardonnay (and others), wines that do well without oak seasoning, that taste great young, with minimal manipulation do not need to be expensive to be very drinkable. Red wine is different, if you expect oak flavoring or if the grape makes complex wine and needs aging to fully hit its peak, then there will be something missing from the super value priced wines. If you notice the current vintage for Red wines is often a year older than White wines, that is because the bigger, oak aged wines take longer to come together. Oak and holding back wine a year or more costs money and that is something that is not available in wine 5 bucks and under. Red wines that don’t need oak and do well young, Spanish grapes, such as Garnacha, Syrah, and even Tempranillo, along with grapes from the southern regions of France do better as low-priced wines, where I would stay away from super cheap Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. That is not to say that there are not exceptions to that rule, I do find wines that I enjoy that I had initial very low expectations, but when going super value priced wine, your best bet is to go White wine. The alcohol content for the California Roots Chardonnay is 13.5%.
The Color is a pale wheat yellow. The nose is apple, lemon, peach, pear, and lime, with a little grapefruit added in. This is a reasonably dry Chard, with solid acidity, this is a 5 dollar food wine. It tastes of Golden delicious apple, melon, lemon, and Bosc pear. The mid-palate mirrors the body of the wine, but does add a little cream and a salty sensation. Like I said the acidity will allow this wine to pair with a variety of foods. The finish is full and sticks around for a while.
Target’s California Roots Chardonnay 2016 is a pretty decent 5 buck Chardonnay, you’re not aware that you are drinking a super low-priced Chard, it is not all that much different from a $10 wine. While I wouldn’t go as far as say it is delicious, definitely ain’t bad. All in all, a pretty good effort.
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