California Chardonnays Tasting with Gary Vaynerchuk

Hopefully that was true. Hello everybody, welcome to wine library TV. I am your host Gary Vaynerchuk and this my friends, oh this, this is the thunders show a.k.a. the internets most passionate wine program. And we are battling Chardonnay pay. It’s a lovely Friday and more importantly, I wish you guys nothing but happiness and health over this weekend, where the New York Jets will defeat the Buffalo Bills 16 to 7. So Chardonnays, hopefully a lot of you were able to go out and get these wines and more importantly I'm really hoping that you’re sitting now next to friends and family, girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands, wives, neighbors alike, and devouring these two wines together with me that makes me feel really awesome. And hopefully I've seen some of you so far on this tour and hopefully I’ll see more of you on this tour. Matt, I'm just--you know at the end of the day I want to see people, so I'm going need you to link up this entire week even though you know you have for the last three days, five days and going forward. Because I want people -- for a little while, because I want pips to come out and say hello. I want to meet a lot of people touring the country. So stay away from me and Lizzie. I might as well get some value in hugs some maniacs. So two wines, really excited about them. Let’s pour them out. The first—sorry Matt, I got you quick on the draw there. Two really good value Chardonnays with really good press for main stream critic. So it would be interesting to see how they felt. Let me show you the first one, Healdsburg Ranch, 2007 Sonoma County Unoaked Chardonnay. This wine rules in a 10 bones and is 88 point spectator, have had no experience with these wines. So I'm dying to see what they bring to table and a wine we have had enormous experience with. I remember the seeing the ‘94 version of this Matt. So I'm starting to feel a little bit old. This is the Calera Central Coast, actually back then it was higher end producer. They have come down to earth over the years. Calera Central Coast Chardonnay, 13 bones, 90 parker, which is a huge score for the most influential wine critic in the world. Ten months in Oak barrel, 10% of which are new, so double 10’s, 10, 10 wins New York city baby. And so which really mean Matt, just check this out. It actually rattles off where the fruit comes from. I don’t know if you can get on this, right here. Do you see this? I mean it's going to be hard for people to see exactly what they are but if you have the bottle in front of you. What I like from them is they break down, you know the sheep vineyard and the counter barnyard, and the RFP vineyard, Sleepy Hallow vineyard, which is a great, great vineyard. They’ve got nine percent in here. The rose vineyard in San Benito. So really a lot of fun of how Calera breaks that down for you in the back end, ’08, ’07, not oak. This is oaked, so a little bit different. You know I've been doing battles of similar but these guys have different kind of things going on and clearly the oak version has a little bit more color going on. If you see what’s going on there. Mr. Matt and everybody at home, so let’s see what going on here. Let's get into the Healdsburg ranch. Let's give it a sniffy sniff. Pricked nose, I don’t know if you guys have seen this at home. I'm really impressed with the guava that attacks my palate, my nose actually right away. Little sugar cane and a little bit of spiciness as well coming through in the nose, which I like. It's actually a pretty strong nose, it smells a little bit a bakery which I like quite a bit, great, great nose right there. Let’s give a sniffy sniff to the Calera. A little more aromatically challenged, not giving me as much on the bouquet as the prior one. I do get a little hint of the oakiness but very minimal. I'm getting pear if anything very much aromatically challenged. In the first couple of rounds definitely go to the Healdsburg ranches because there’s a little bit more going on the nose, and I'm enjoying it. Now you might like the subtle the other Calera, it all comes down to your palate and senses. Let’s give this a whirl. Good asset on the backend actually which I like, nice and ripping actually, very good asset for a Chardonnay actually. Good mouth feel, not delicious, so that’s one thing that bothers me. And a little too much heat on the backend 13711 getting a very distinct granny smith and golden apple red delicious just a variety of apples on the backend of the palate, which I like. A little hint of pear as well, I'm tasting that a little bit more that I've expected. It's really start to open up a little bit on the backend, just jump back here. Here’s the Calera now Central Coast. Much bigger wine than the Healdsburg. A little buttery which I like but not too over the top which is great, very much taste--actually taste like a plate when you go out and you get some cheese and some cutup apples, some crackers you know just you know kind of seam down getting ready for your main meal or when you’re entertaining because I get the apples quite a bit. But then there’s also this creaminess that almost makes me think of cheese believe it or not. For a big shout out to Gourmet library, gourmetlibrary.com, we have to put a wine on a—we have to do some cheese and wine. Anyway, really, really creamy and that’s giving me that dairy feel on the palate, which then makes me think of cheese and then with the apples. So it’s giving me that almost that sensation of an appetite kind of pre-dinner, kind of snack component. I definitely get the apples in this as well. Let's go to the Healdsburg. This clearly a tale of 2 very different stylistic Chardonnays. What I'm first excited about is both are very service wine. I don’t think you can be at home really to too upset. This might turn off some people at home because the acid is in your face and it might be a little too much for your palate. I think the Calera is going to be a little more popular because it’s got the creaminess, it definitely get the weight. I'm glad; I'm really hoping that you have both at home and are able to taste this side by side. You’ll really see what’s going on. You really learn about weight and mouth feel. But at the end of day, both of them are not lacking in interest and ability to deliver, especially at the price point. I feel like both are slightly overrated, but not by much. I think Parker overrated this by a little bit. I’ll go 88 plus in the Calera. I'm going to go 86 plus on the Healdsburg Ranches. Ironically, I'm thrilled about some sear and crisp, and Rizzlings and here I am going for the wine that has a little bit more oak. A little bit more body because just because unoaked and just because it’s not the oak monster, it doesn’t mean that it's better. When done properly, when you balance oak, I think you get a lot of characteristics that are special, that are interesting and that do make wine drinking fun. I like the body of this wine. I like the proof, I like a little bit more in my mouth. This is crisp and clean but I can get the sensation from a lot of high acid. You know under 12-dollar Sauvignon Blancs and Rizzlings that I think – Rizzlings under 18 that I think do a better job at it. But at 10 bones, it's definitely nothing to squab. You know a nice value, especially both of these wines are fairly available out there. So in comparison to the way the week started with white wines, this is almost flip drop pound and reverse it. Again didn’t kill me, I'm going to 88 plus on this, it might a little bit tough. 86 plus on that and all in all, not to shabby. Question of the day, when you’re drinking this weekend, when the Jets beat the Bills 16-7? You with a little bit of me, we are changing the wine world.