The St. Gisbertus Holiday Chardonnay is a $5.99 Aldi’s import exclusive. This is a non-vintage Chardonnay using IGP (new designation for Vin de Pays wines) D’Oc (the Languedoc) grapes but the wine is bottled in Germany, Aldi’s is a German company. To be honest, I bought this wine for the bottle, the front label serves as a frame for a drawing of festive Holiday decorations that show thru from the back of the bottle. It is far more understated and even elegant take on the usual holiday wines with a cartoon Santa or reindeer on the front. The bottle has a whole Christmas 1978 vibe about it. It is surprisingly only mildly tacky and that will fit right in during the Holiday celebrations. The alcohol content is 12%.
The color is canned peaches in light syrup yellow. The nose is pleasant, peaches, pears, pineapple, a light floral scent and lemon chiffon. This is a light, simple Chardonnay. It tastes of mix of pears and lime, a mild hit of non-sugary SweeTarts, dried apricots and a dash of creamy lemon curd at the finish. The acidity is balanced, this would work as a food wine, as long as the flavors of the meal are not too bold. The finish is subdued, but lingers.
Buy the St. Gisbertus Holiday Chardonnay for the bottle, the Chardonnay inside the bottle is very drinkable, but not very exciting. Don’t get me wrong, your guests will happily finish the bottle, there are no weird, off flavors, it is just that there are better Chardonnays in this price range. But then again, none of those other Chardonnays’s have a cool Holiday bottle.
