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The Kenwood Sonoma Monterey Chardonnay 2019 is a wine that should be found selling for between $10 and $15. This brand from Pernod Ricard recently sold off their value-priced portfolio but kept Kenwood Vineyards.
Kenwood Vineyards is a 160-year-old winery located in Sonoma that seems to be well worth visiting when tasting Sonoma. It has had several owners and looks to be transitioning to more upscale wine.
The Kenwood Sonoma (50%) Monterey (50%) Chardonnay 2019 is an entry-level wine. With grapes sourced from both the Central Coast AVA and the North Coast AVA it is a bottling that usually would show California on the label, but by naming the individual (though large) AVAs they get around those requirements.
The Kenwood Vineyards website was not working properly, but I could not find this wine listed as a current product. The wines on the website seemed to favor vineyard-specific wines.
This Chardonnay was aged in both French and Hungarian oak barrels. French and Hungarian oak are both the same species of oak (American oak is a separate species) with Hungarian oak being more affordable.
The Kenwood Sonoma Monterey Chardonnay 2019 underwent partial malolactic fermentation. This is a process, that naturally occurs in Red wine, that changes the tart acid naturally occurring in wine grapes to lactic acid which is more rounded and less tart. So this Chardonnay should show a mix of both the tart and the smooth styles of Chardonnay. The alcohol content is 14.1%.
The Kenwood Sonoma Monterey Chardonnay 2019 Tasting Notes
The color is a golden yellow. The nose is apple, lemon, and melon, followed by pear, peach, and vanilla. The Kenwood Sonoma Monterey Chardonnay 2019 is smooth with excellent fruit and citrus flavors. There is some weight to the body of this Chardonnay.
This Chardonnay tastes like a stew of apple, grapefruit, melon, and lemon, then peach and pear emerge, followed by spice and vanilla. The main flavors continue to the finish which is fairly long and intense.
The acidity is balanced and the flavors are allowed to fully unfold.
The Summary
- The Kenwood Sonoma Monterey Chardonnay 2019 is a well-made full-flavored wine.
- The 2019 vintage is a bit old, but it drinks well.
- Be on the lookout for Kenwood Vineyard’s bargains since it looks like changes are coming to their portfolio.
