My first introduction to Fantesca Estate turned out to be a great one, with the 2007 Fantesca Estate Chardonnay, Russian River Valley. Not a typical California Chardonnay, with a little less oak and butter than I expected, this offering is much more along the lines of a French white wine - very well balanced, crisp and light, more earthy than oakey, with a consistent and prevalent acid structure. Also, more citrus than I expected from a California Chardonnay, which, on the warm summer night we tasted it, definitely hit the spot.From the winery's website: The goal was to make a wine that confidently places the fruit at center stage while complementing it with nuanced winemaking skill which adds depth, complexity and balance. The three separate vineyard lots were thoughtfully paired to individual oak and fermentation protocols to weave into a seamless blend.
But, that's not the real story behind this wine. Sure it's a good wine and probably something I'll buy again, but it's the association with Heidi Barrett (yes, that Heidi Barrett of Screaming Eagle fame) that gives this wine a more well-rounded story. She is not the winemaker for this Chardonnay and didn't shepherd the wine from vineyard to bottle, but she did oversee the barrel aging and final blending processes. And my guess is that it's that much better for having her involved.
It's like hiring a world-renown music producer to join you halfway through your first CD to mix your final tracks, but not produce the CD from start to finish, which is exactly what I did with my old, and last, band. Sure, we ended up with a great CD that I still listen to now and again, but we never got as far as some of his other bands (like the two he moved on to immediately after working with us, who, between them sold over 50 million records).
Interesting...is my old band to Fantesca as our master mixer is to Heidi Barrett? In the end the product is still great, but it could have been just that much better had the key person been involved from the beginning. Oh, never mind, I digress...and that conversation is probably only interesting over a nice bottle of wine with old bandmates.
In any case, still a very nice wine from a great winemaker.
What you should do: Buy it. It's not a cheap Chardonnay at $45 and, like everything associated with Heidi, it's not easy to find, but, if you can find a bottle pick one up. I do think it's worth $45, but it's worth even more if you're able to pull it out at dinner with some wine snobs and tell them the story behind the wine (on second thought, maybe you should just tell them you have it and then enjoy it on your own).
My rating: 90
If you want to know more about Heidi Barrett, Gary Vaynerchuk just this last week posted two new videos on Wine Library TV with her as his special guest.
Wine Maker and Legend Heidi Barrett Visits Wine Library TV - Part 1
Wine Maker and Legend Heidi Barrett Visits Wine Library TV - Part 2
On a side note, you can find our CD (you know - the one mixed by that guy that went on to produce way more successful bands) in bargain bins at carefully selected, high-end, premium music stores around the country. Cheap, CHEAP!
Gadget
0 Response to "Screaming Eagle, Heidi Barrett and Chardonnay?"