Dive into the world of premium yet affordable Chardonnay with our exploration of La Crema’s 2023 Sonoma Coast offering. At just $15 from Costco, this wine delivers remarkable quality that punches well above its price point, making it a must-try for wine enthusiasts seeking value without compromise.
What sets La Crema apart is their consistent house style applied across different growing regions, allowing the unique terroir characteristics to shine through while maintaining their signature approach to winemaking. The Sonoma Coast Chardonnay undergoes meticulous barrel fermentation and ages for six months with a thoughtful combination of 25% French oak (contributing refined spices) and 25% American oak (adding vanilla and butter notes), all while developing complexity through on-lees aging.
The cool Sonoma Coast region, with its fog-covered mountain valleys along the Pacific, creates the perfect environment for a more Burgundian-style Chardonnay. The 2023 vintage experienced a growing season 3-4 weeks longer than usual, resulting in perfectly developed fruit with balanced 13.5% alcohol content – a telltale sign of cool-climate viticulture. Whether you’re a casual wine drinker or a serious oenophile, this bottle offers a fascinating glimpse into how location, climate, and winemaking techniques converge to create distinctive character in the glass. Try it yourself and discover why La Crema continues to be a benchmark producer for accessible, high-quality California Chardonnay!
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Introduction to La Crema Chardonnay
Speaker 1
0:02
Hey
,
welcome
,
domain
Dave
.
Cheapwinefindercom
Another
wine
review
podcast
.
We
do
it
three
times
a
week
.
Write
a
review
on
CheapWineFindercom
,
then
plug
in
the
microphone
and
today
we've
got
the
La
Crema
Sonoma
Coast
Chardonnay
2023
.
It's
a
Costco
wine
.
It's
a
wine
that
you
should
be
able
to
find
cheapest
at
Costco
,
though
I
saw
someone
who
had
a
four
dollars
cheaper
.
Then
Costco
did
,
but
most
the
time
it's
four
dollars
more
expensive
.
Speaker 1
0:34
Look
,
prima
,
that
is
the
best
is
a
.
Why
would
they
have
a
?
They
have
a
estate
vineyard
in
the
russian
river
valley
of
um
,
of
sonoma
and
um
,
but
what
they
do
and
they
have
other
,
they
do
other
wines
,
but
they
specialize
in
chardonnay
and
pinot
noir
and
some
of
the
elite
growing
regions
in
california
,
like
there's
all
these
uh
,
avas
,
sonoma
,
and
there's
Canaros
in
the
Russian
La Crema's House Style Explained
Speaker 1
1:05
River
and
Sonoma
Coast
,
and
they
even
go
up
into
Oregon
where
they
go
into
the
Lamont
and
that
type
of
thing
.
And
what's
interesting
about
them
,
since
they're
doing
all
these
Chardonnays
and
the
Pinot
Noir
today's
just
Chardonnay
is
they
have
a
house
style
.
Is
they
have
a
house
style
?
So
,
if
you
get
a
La
Crema
Caneros
wine
and
a
La
Crema
Sonoma
Coast
wine
,
since
the
winemaking
philosophy
is
the
same
,
the
wines
aren't
cookie
cutters
,
rakes
,
ask
for
different
techniques
to
be
used
,
but
it's
the
same
philosophy
behind
it
,
the
same
house
style
.
So
you're
kind
of
removing
that
from
the
equation
and
getting
the
differences
of
the
grapes
when
you're
drinking
back
to
back
.
The
problem
with
that
is
most
wine
shops
don't
carry
more
than
one
,
maybe
two
,
but
crema
wines
,
so
you're
going
to
have
to
look
around
to
get
it
.
But
that
would
be
kind
of
a
fun
exercise
in
learning
about
chardonnay
and
what
these
things
are
,
because
sometimes
you
can
have
,
like
a
Trader
Joe's
or
whatever
,
has
you
know
,
a
San
Luis
Obispo
this
or
Santa
Lucia
Highlands
,
that
,
and
it's
different
People
make
it
every
time
and
that
makes
everything
different
.
Speaker 1
2:22
I'm
going
to
have
a
sip
of
this
one
.
It's
a
nice
blend
of
citrus
Barrel Fermentation and Oak Aging
Speaker 1
2:39
and
fruit
.
It's
barrel
fermented
,
which
I
like
to
see
Most
of
the
time
.
It's
nothing
wrong
with
stainless
steel
tanks
,
but
you
can
only
get
so
many
liters
of
wine
into
a
barrel
where
you
can
get
gallons
upon
gallons
of
wine
in
those
tanks
.
So
it's
a
smaller
batch
.
Again
,
not
that
that
makes
that
much
difference
,
because
a
good
winemaker
doesn't
care
,
you
can
do
it
either
way
.
Speaker 1
3:03
But
they
took
the
time
to
to
barrel
ferment
it
and
then
they
actually
aged
another
six
months
in
25
percent
french
oak
and
25
american
oak
.
And
when
they
do
those
,
um
,
french
oak
is
more
subtle
and
refined
.
It
doesn't
give
off
as
much
flavor
,
it's
more
spices
and
nuances
.
And
american
doesn't
give
off
as
much
flavor
,
it's
more
spices
and
nuances
.
And
American
oak
is
the
crowd-pleasing
chocolates
and
vanilla
and
the
butter
and
that
type
of
thing
they
did
on-leaves
.
On-leaves
means
you
keep
the
dead
yeast
in
with
the
wine
during
the
aging
process
and
that
helps
give
it
a
rounded
taste
.
If
you
stir
the
leaves
,
that's
batonage
,
which
means
stick
stirring
.
Take
another
sip
.
Yeah
,
this
is
a
really
solid
Chardonnay
.
Sonoma Coast Growing Region
Speaker 1
4:02
Sonoma
Coast
is
in
the
mountain
valleys
right
along
the
Pacific
Ocean
.
Russian
River
is
east
.
There
used
to
be
an
overlap
between
all
these
different
AVAs
but
they
broke
it
off
because
it
was
.
The
vineyards
on
the
ridge
are
above
the
fog
line
.
The
ones
in
the
valley
are
in
the
fog
,
which
means
that
the
fog
has
to
burn
off
before
the
sun
gets
to
them
.
So
they
tend
to
have
a
much
longer
growing
time
because
the
sun
doesn't
get
to
them
much
.
This
one
,
they
said
,
was
like
3-4
weeks
late
,
which
gave
the
in
Pinot
Noir
.
You
love
that
Chardonnay
too
.
This
is
more
Burgundian
than
when
they
have
this
long
growing
period
.
It's
only
13.5
in
the
alcohol
,
which
tells
you
it's
a
cool
area
,
because
most
of
the
time
it's
14.5
.
The
higher
the
alcohol
rating
,
the
more
ripe
it
gets
.
So
this
was
a
long
,
cool
growing
region
and
a
very
high-end
growing
area
.
Speaker 1
4:59
A
lot
of
the
wineries
in
the
Sonoma
Coast
are
boutique
type
ones
,
really
high
end
.
So
,
just
on
it
.
If
you're
just
going
to
Costco
and
you
want
to
get
yourself
a
I
think
it
was
$15
,
$14.99
Value and Where to Buy
Speaker 1
5:12
.
You
know
,
for
a
barrel
fermented
Chardonnay
they
do
make
.
They
have
single
barrel
wines
,
single
vineyard
wines
,
they
have
the
whole
thing
.
But
this
is
one
of
their
more
affordable
Chardonnays
.
It's
well
worth
drinking
and
if
you're
going
to
buy
it
,
get
it
.
If
you're
near
a
jewel
,
it's
$11
right
now
.
If
you're
not
,
you're
looking
for
a
nice
,
nice
upscale
,
really
well-made
Chardonnay
.
Costco's
the
place
to
grab
it
.
So
that's
it
for
me
.
Domain
Dave
cheapwinefightercom
.
If
you
like
us
,
if
you
like
our
podcast
,
push
the
button
.
You
will
.
It
helps
and
we
appreciate
it
.
So
,
adios
,
keep
it
cheap
,
stay
cool
,
because
it's
getting
warm
out
there
.
I
think
it's
going
to
get
a
little
colder
this
week
,
but
,
adios
,
I'll
be
talking
.
