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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Paso Robles Chardonnay 2021 Is a $7.99 limited exclusive wine. Usually, Trader Joe’s wine has no production notes, but this wine is featured in the Fearless Flyer so we have a few things to go on.
To make a short story even shorter, Trader Joe’s says that a wine partner of theirs from Paso Robles who produces estate-grown wines offered them some excess Chardonnay. They tried Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Paso Robles Chardonnay 2021 and liked it.
This is the French Negotiate model, in which a wine company purchases excess wine from an established winery and sells it for a reduced price under its own label. Where the wine came from originally must be hidden since the same wine is being sold for much less.
Trader Joe’s is not a negociant, they are a grocery store, so they use third-party wine companies to do the leg work. Sometimes the 3rd party is deeply involved in the wine, other times they do the paperwork and some odds and ends.
The Fearless Flyer says the Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Paso Robles Chardonnay 2021 has flavors of notes of honeysuckle with toasty oak on the palate. One aroma and one flavor are not much to go on, but toast oak comes from oak barrel aging. Honeysuckle is not a typical component of Chardonnay, but may also come from intentional oak barrel flavors. The alcohol content is 14.1%.
The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Paso Robles Chardonnay 2021 Tasting Notes
The color is golden yellow with faint hints of brown. The nose is lemon, very floral, with green apples, peach and pear, toasty vanilla, and a little tropical fruit. The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Paso Robles Chardonnay 2021 engages your palate with darker flavors and textures. Most 8-buck Chardonnay is bright and fruit-forward, but this one has some weight to the flavors.
This Chardonnay tastes like apple, brown butter, vanilla, lemon, and peach. The mid-palate shows that nutty/salty “on-lees” sensation, Anjou pear, and nectarine. The acidity is nicely balanced.
The Summary
- The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Paso Robles Chardonnay 2021 is not your typical $7.99 Chardonnay, it is a very interesting non-cookie cutter wine.
- This is a wine well worth seeking out and trying, it may not be your favorite Chardonnay, but you will be glad you gave it a try, plus it is only $7.99.
