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The Jawbreaker California Chardonnay is a wine I found for $12.59, the producer is Chateau Diana from Sonoma, California. This is a non-vintage wine, but the tasting notes say “sourced from some prized California vineyards, almost exclusively from the warm Central Valley”.
The Central Valley includes Clarksburg, Lodi AVA, and many smaller, boutique locations. Where the grapes come from and why this is a non-vintage wine is not addressed.
Chateau Diana is a family-owned and operated winery founded in 1981 by Tom and Diana Manning. Tom was involved with the early days of Trader Joe; ‘s wines when he was put in charge of finding Neogcaint wine, though this is not a Trader Joe’s wine. A quick check of Chateau Diana’s website shows that they often produce non-vintage wines.
If they are procuring grapes from “prized California vineyards”, maybe the vintage date is not as important as the quality of the grapes.
The Jawbreaker California Chardonnay is 91% Chardonnay, 7% French Colombard, and 2% Sauvignon Blanc. French Colombard is related to Chenin Blanc.
This is an unoaked Chardonnay that was fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks. The alcohol content is 13.2% and it has skeletons on the label which makes this a wine to remember for a Halloween party.
The Jawbreaker California Chardonnay Tasting Notes
The color is wheat yellow. The nose is melon, lemon, green apple, pear, coconut milk, peach, and lightly floral. The Jawbreaker California Chardonnay a smooth almost mellow Chard upfront with citrus on the mid-palate and finish.
This Chardonnay tastes like spicey apple, lime, Anjou pear, and lemon curd. The mid-palate adds mild grapefruit, peach, guava, nectarine, and a faint tangerine. This is a subtle, but tasty wine.
The acidity is balanced and allows this Chardonnay to have good length.
The Summary
- And now for something completely different, the Jawbreaker California Chardonnay is very familiar but is unique.
- This Chardonnay sees no oak treatment and oak is not missed.
- There is tons of flavor, but it is all subdued. This wine is fun to drink.
