Top 5 California Chardonnays With a Buttery Kick!
Top 5 California Chardonnays With a Buttery Kick!
By Zach Glassman, CSW
Chardonnay tends to be a divisive varietal - either you like it or you want anything but it. And in Chardonnay, you have those who love oak and butter and you have those who want clean, pure stainless steel fermentation. Well, I’ll tell you where I stand: I love buttery Chardonnays. I want a Chardonnay that has undergone 50-100% malolactic fermentation that I could pour over popcorn or use to bake a pie. This list is my selection of wines that are buttery, beautiful, and immensely drinkable!
Bread and Butter Chardonnay 2020
100% Chardonnay - Napa, California
$11.99 ($10.80 on 6 bottles, $10.19 on 12 bottles)
Well, yes, “butter” is in the name, but that doesn’t mean the wine is good, right? Wrong! An absolutely *classic* Napa Carneros Chardonnay, brimming with passionfruit, toasted barrels, and baking spices in a lemon tart with flakey, buttery crust… have I mentioned how much I love this wine? Oh, and the price doesn’t suck either!
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Roth Estate ‘Russian River Valley’ Chardonnay 2017
100% Chardonnay - Sonoma, California
$19.99 ($18 on 6 bottles, $16.99 on 12 bottles)
Time and time again people come into the store to tell me how much they like Roth Estate’s Russian River Valley Chardonnay. And why shouldn’t they? Butter is the name of the game here, along with a beautifully clean taste accompanying the underlying oak influence. RRV is the standard for some of the best Chardonnay vineyards in Sonoma and Roth’s Chardonnay shows that all the way through. Between $12-20, you won’t find a better option.
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The Prisoner Wine Company Chardonnay 2019
A blend of Chardonnay, Roussanne, and Gewürztraminer - Napa, California
$34.99 ($31.50 on 6 bottles, $29.74 on 12 bottles)
Let’s face it: if you’ve heard about wine coming out of California, you’ve probably heard of, or even tasted, a wine from Prisoner. Orin Swift, the winery that originally housed The Prisoner, no longer has anything to do with the wine, but that doesn’t diminish the quality (even if Orin Swift’s winemaker, Dave Phinney, creates some of the best wines to come out of California in my opinion). A blend of Chardonnay, Roussanne, and Gewürztraminer, this wine has it all: the depth and spice of oak, the buttery roundness, the power, the richness, but it also has a soft finish with a floral quality that lingers long after the swallow. There’s a reason Prisoner wines draw such a cult following.
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Rombauer Vineyards Chardonnay 2019
100% Chardonnay - Napa, California
$42.99 ($38.70 on 6 bottles, $36.54 on 12 bottles)
Speaking of “cult following”, no list about buttery-goodness would be complete without Rombauer’s powerhouse Chardonnay, the OG if you will. Lauded as being the buttery-est of all Chardonnays, Rombauer is *incredibly* drinkable. The price may be a little steep for some, but for others this wine is the house Chardonnay of choice and it should be! Treat yourself to a wine whose popularity hasn’t diminished in the slightest in the 12 years I’ve been in the industry, which continues to be the gold standard against which other buttery Chardonnays are judged.
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Frank Family ‘Lewis Vineyard’ Chardonnay 2020
100% Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley, California
$74.99 ($67.50 on 6 bottles, $63.74 on 12 bottles)
93 Points from Antonio Galloni, who says that this wine is a quintessential Carneros Chardonnay and boy, is he ever right! Vanilla, butter, nougat, toasted nuts, honey, and tropical flavors with a tight acidity to back it up? This is a holy grail amongst high-end Napa Chardonnays. The winery has it for $85 per bottle. Save yourself some money - get it today from Bogey’s!
This item is *extremely* limited. First come, first served.
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So what did you think? Let us know what your favorite buttery Chardonnay is on our Instagram @bogeysbottledgoods using hashtag #bogeyswine