Vin Seven Unoaked Chardonnay 2019

The Vin Seven Unoaked Chardonnay 2019 is a $4.99 wine that I found at Trader Joe’s, but the 7 in the Vin Seven name stands for 7/Eleven. At one time, the Vin Seven Unoaked Chardonnay 2019 was a 7/Eleven exclusive wine. Sonoma Bespoke makes custom private-label wines for Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Aldi, grocery store chains, and chain restaurants.

I do not know why a 7/Eleven wine is on Trader Joe’s shelves or even if Vin Seven ever made it into 7/Eleven stores. The national wine press does not seem to cover 7/Eleven wine news. 7/Eleven has had its own exclusive wines since at least 2005.

Most value-priced California White wines are unoaked, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, etc., all make lovely wines when produced with simple techniques. Chardonnay is the one White wine that routinely undergoes complex winemaking production.

Oak barrel Fermentation and aging, malolactic fermentation, on-lees aging, different temperatures during fermentation, various Chardonnay clones used, Chardonnay can get complicated. An unoaked Chardonnay produces the wine in the same way as all the other inexpensive white wines.

Unoaked wines are often young wines meant to be enjoyed soon after release; they will typically drink well for a year or two. The Vin Seven Unoaked Chardonnay 2019 has a little age. Neither 7/Eleven, Trader Joe’s, or Sonoma Bespoke give any technical notes for this Chardonnay. But I would not wait much longer than the end of summer to drink this wine.

If this is actually a drinkable wine today but does have a limited shelf life, that would explain why Trader Joe’s is selling this Chardonnay at a closeout price of $4.99. It has an attractive, eye-catching label, and the ink on the label is temperature-sensitive. The angel wings change color when the bottle reaches 50 degrees, which they say is ideal. It sounds a little cold to me; the cold temps can suppress flavors.

So we have a 7/Eleven wine that is now a Trader Joe’s wine with an attractive label that sells for less than five bucks. I mention the importance of a decent label with very inexpensive wines; if they put no effort into the label, how much effort did they put into the wine? The alcohol content is 13.5%.

Vin Seven Unoaked Chardonnay 2019 Tasting Notes

The color is wheat yellow. The nose is apples, melon, lemon, peach, guava, and tangerine. I was chilling the wine to get the wings on the label to change color, and this Chardonnay is too cold to give its full display of aromas. This Chardonnay is medium to light-bodied, with a solid mouth-feel.

It tastes like lemon, dried pear bits, light tangerine, and green apple. The mid-palate adds not-so-tart grapefruit and soft peach, with a little of that salty, nutty on-lees sensation. The acidity is well-balanced, maybe slightly on the mild side.

The Summary

• The Vin Seven Unoaked Chardonnay 2019 is a crisp, clean, tasty summer wine that drinks above its price tag.
• 7/Eleven does not have a reputation for bang-for-the-buck wines, so you will feel better about your $4.99 purchase when you pick it up at TJ’s.