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The Butternut Chardonnay 2021 is a wine I found for $11.99, the label says the grapes came from California. Butternut is one of the brands in the Miller Family Wines line of wines. The Miller Family Wines also own Central Coast Wine Warehouse, a custom wine producer, who ten years ago was a major producer of Trader Joe’s wines, though this is not a TJ’s wine. They own some of the finest vineyards in Paso Robles.
The Butternut name suggests oak aging of some sort but their wine notes say this wine was both fermented and aged in stainless steel. The tasting notes mention that the nose includes vanilla, creme brulee, guava, honeydew melon, and Bosc pear. Those scents would typically indicate oak aging with malolactic fermentation. So we will have to wait for the tasting section to see which is correct, the wine notes or the tasting notes.
The is a California-designated wine, Butternut is located on the Central Coast, so it seems that grapes from the North Coast and/or Clarksburg and Lodi are also used.
The winemaker is Roxie Ward who was trained in French winemaking techniques, along with working in Australia. The 2020 vintage received 90 points from a leading wine magazine. The alcohol content is 13.5%.
The Butternut Chardonnay 2021 Tasting Notes
The color is a shiny, sunshine yellow. The nose is peach and pear, lemon, a hint of butter, vanilla, and crisp apple. The Butternut Chardonnay 2021 has a rich flavor and decent length. I would say the tasting notes are wrong about the stainless steel aging, this Chardonnay has an oak influence.
This Chardonnay tastes like peach, vanilla, lemon, line, pear, and green apple. The mid-palate adds stone fruit, some tropical fruit, and just a hint of buttercream (not sweet). The acidity is nicely balanced and this Chardonnay has good length.
The Summary
- The Butternut Chardonnay 2021 is very tasty, especially if you like the flavors of oak.
- The tech notes were worthless, but the wine was a joy to drink.
- If you enjoy oaked Chardonnay give it a try.
