Expression 38° Gap's Crown Vineyard Chardonnay
$49.99 + $5 shipping
CONDITION: White
PRODUCT: 2 2008 Expression 38° Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, Gap's Crown Vineyard
CT link above

Winery website

I am guessing that "modern" equals "stainless"". Not sure why this should fetch $25 at a discount.

CT reviews not so promising for what I prefer in a chard.

I'm pretty sure this was barreled.

from the website.
"A modern style coastal Chardonnay, brimming with acidity and starring major league pineapple, tangerine, Asian pear, buttered toast and honey vanilla flavors. Very rich and flamboyant. Calls for a rich shellfish dish in a cream sauce. — S.H. (3/1/2011)"

Sounds like it saw oak but not a lot of it.

Need some stats! Oak? How much? What kind? How long? What's the cellaring window?

Interesting the blog writeup talks up their Pinot, but not a word about the Chardonnay??

I had a killer Chardonnay last weekend at a Pope Valley Napa wine tasting event from a totally unexpected winery. It may be the best Chardonnay I've ever tried to be honest.

Well, these guys are known for their single vineyard Pinot Noir on woot, and their 2008 was $35 a bottle here, their 2007, $25 I think. So this is priced like their single-vineyard PN, as Chardonnay is usually a little cheaper than Pinot Noir from the same place, IIRC. And indeed this is a single-vineyard Chardonnay. Question is, do you like Central Coast Chardonnay, and was the weather cool enough for it?

bsevern wrote:I had a killer Chardonnay last weekend at a Pope Valley Napa wine tasting event from a totally unexpected winery.

Care to mention the name in case it appears on WW in the future?

The description of the winery (and past personal experience) reflects success with the PN varietal, but silent on Chard. I would like to hear from the winemaker as to why this is worthy of a Black Tie before I buy.....

WaltW wrote:Care to mention the name in case it appears on WW in the future?

Yes give it up.

Appears to sell for $48 a bottle on their website, making this a very deep discount. 91 points from Wine Enthusiast, which might be driving the price. But yeah, I'd definitely need some convincing to buy two bottles of Chard at this price point, particularly from Sonoma. I'm sure it's lovely, but not in my budget.

synchrodan wrote:Appears to sell for $48 a bottle on their website, making this a very deep discount. 91 points from Wine Enthusiast, which might be driving the price. But yeah, I'd definitely need some convincing to buy two bottles of Chard at this price point, particularly from Sonoma. I'm sure it's lovely, but not in my budget.

Just to add to that, its only about $32 on wine-searcher and the CT average price for 30+ bottles is only about $22, so this has been offered at a very deep discount elsewhere as well, meaning the winery price appears to be pretty heavily inflated. A third of most recent purchases on CT are from the winery itself, and with a $22 CT price, means the winery is even selling this for 50% off at times.

I'll pass.

I'm with the herd. That's pretty high price point for a Chardonnay... if they had done 3 bottles for that price I'd be in. I don't see this one selling out. Pass!

Loved their Pinot Noir from the previous Woot offering when I had it. I'd much rather be looking at a Pinot Gris. Not sure I can bring myself to drop that much for a Chard.

Coincidentally, I went to an Expressions tasting just last week. Consistent with their write-up, the tasting was all about their PN's (adding in the chard featured today and the Tetra Bordeaux blend).

In any case, someone from the winery was there to present the wines and it kicked off with the Gap's Crown Chardonnay.

This is definitely oaked. No idea how much, but from what I remember, it had plenty of that textbook buttery thing going on.

I really drink red almost exclusively and prefer an un-oaked chardonnay when I do have white, so take this with the proverbial grain of salt. But this wine has really nice acidity-- immediately get that great mouth watering sensation making it a great food wine. And I found the tasting notes from the website to match what I remember tasting, especially the pineapple and pear bit.

Hey, I know that may not be the most detailed assessment, but you get what you pay for. ;)

curt11 wrote:
Hey, I know that may not be the most detailed assessment, but you get what you pay for. ;)

We appreciate the effort!

WaltW wrote:Care to mention the name in case it appears on WW in the future?

It was RustRidge Chardonnay. I have doubts these guys will make it to WW, although I see they've been on a few other wine sites. Their Chardonnay had green apple, hints of pear and pineapple, and an incredible vanilla-cream thing going on, great mouth feel. Varietally correct? Probably not, but very tasty, wonderful fruit, nice balance and acidity, minerality and that vanilla-cream thing was awesome.

texacaliali wrote:haven't tasted this wine (yet).

Well if it gets on your agenda today (perhaps with lunch?) let us know!

trifecta wrote:I am guessing that "modern" equals "stainless"". Not sure why this should fetch $25 at a discount.

CT reviews not so promising for what I prefer in a chard.

You guess wrong mi amigo. No stainless here. We prefer to showcase the fruit by using 2 yr and older french oak for fermentation. The texture is there, the malo is there - but the fruit is the star of this wine. I guess "modern" is the new definition of "doesn't taste like a butter-dipped wood chip..."

What's up Wooters??? Holla!!! I'm your friendly winery representative for the day here to answer all your burning questions about our Chard and anything Expression... So go ahead. Let me have it. ;-)

curt11 wrote:Coincidentally, I went to an Expressions tasting just last week. Consistent with their write-up, the tasting was all about their PN's (adding in the chard featured today and the Tetra Bordeaux blend).

In any case, someone from the winery was there to present the wines and it kicked off with the Gap's Crown Chardonnay.

This is definitely oaked. No idea how much, but from what I remember, it had plenty of that textbook buttery thing going on.

I really drink red almost exclusively and prefer an un-oaked chardonnay when I do have white, so take this with the proverbial grain of salt. But this wine has really nice acidity-- immediately get that great mouth watering sensation making it a great food wine. And I found the tasting notes from the website to match what I remember tasting, especially the pineapple and pear bit.

Hey, I know that may not be the most detailed assessment, but you get what you pay for. ;)

Hey - if you can find a place for our Chard on your table - rather than pool-side quaffing - well, that's a compliment in some folks eyes! So thank ya!

bsevern wrote:Need some stats! Oak? How much? What kind? How long? What's the cellaring window?

Interesting the blog writeup talks up their Pinot, but not a word about the Chardonnay??

I had a killer Chardonnay last weekend at a Pope Valley Napa wine tasting event from a totally unexpected winery. It may be the best Chardonnay I've ever tried to be honest.

Hey there! Here are some stats for ya...

Barrel fermented in French oak 2 yr and older, 11 months in barrel, T.A. 6.2(g/L), pH 3.53.

It's drinking beautifully now and will continue to do so over the next 2 to 3 years.

However, if aged white burgundies are your thing and you have optimal cellaring conditions available to you - this Chard has the goods to age well for the next 5 to 8 yrs.

Hope this helps!

Winedavid39 wrote:ok, cool. thanks for jumping in. Expression is known for sourcing from killer vineyards. don't you get the pick of the litter?

We do indeed. And the fact that Bill Hill designed and developed all of the properties we source Expression from gives us an edge in cherry picking the best... =)

connoda wrote:I'm with the herd. That's pretty high price point for a Chardonnay... if they had done 3 bottles for that price I'd be in. I don't see this one selling out. Pass!

I too need a break, with all the Cabs on WW, I'm ducking from the wife when Fedex shows up at the front door.

PTommins wrote:The description of the winery (and past personal experience) reflects success with the PN varietal, but silent on Chard. I would like to hear from the winemaker as to why this is worthy of a Black Tie before I buy.....

(As dictated by winemaker to me...)

Buddy, Black Tie worthiness is decided by the drinker (and frankly by Woot who as an outside 3rd party felt it had the goods.) This is my baby here. You are asking me to validate my baby??? It's worthy of the crown jewels of England as far as I'm concerned...

Okay in all seriousness - Gap's Crown is an incredible vineyard site. It's known (just like Expression) for it's Pinot - but the Chard from that vineyard is like the hot little sister that no-one saw coming.

The vineyard itself is situated on a hillside in "The Gap" aka the Petaluma Wind Gap. Or as I like to think of it - the "Holy Grail."

Let me break it down for you:

Hillside vineyard (abundant solar radiation) + close proximity to the Pacific Ocean via "The Gap" (natural air-conditioning) = cold light. The KEY to allowing for perfect ripening of Chardonnay.

Complexity is inherit from the variation of Dijon clones at Gap's Crown and I make my selections at harvest time with that in mind. Those slight variations and nuances will come through in the wine (obviously you know this as a wine drinker) and bringing those together in the cellar to make the perfect Expression (pun intended) of Chardonnay is my goal.

I take a cue from the golden standard of Chardonnay - White Burgundy - and barrel ferment the wines on French Oak (2 yr and older)for eleven months in cold cellars where I let the wines develop enhanced by the slow inclusion of buttery notes that never, never over power the fruit.

This wine can age, this wine is drinking beautifully, this wine was rated 91 Points, and is in my opinion a flippin' steal at $25 when it normally goes for $45...

I'm thinking this wine is Black Tie worthy. Yeah... pretty damn confident about that. But try it man. You make the call.

richardhod wrote:Well, these guys are known for their single vineyard Pinot Noir on woot, and their 2008 was $35 a bottle here, their 2007, $25 I think. So this is priced like their single-vineyard PN, as Chardonnay is usually a little cheaper than Pinot Noir from the same place, IIRC. And indeed this is a single-vineyard Chardonnay. Question is, do you like Central Coast Chardonnay, and was the weather cool enough for it?

Oooh let me jump in here... YES. The weather is cool enough. The weather is perfect. The vineyard is located in the Petaluma Wind Gap which allows for the cool air of the Pacific to sweep in and "air condition" our little hill-side Chardonnay oasis.

bsevern wrote:I had a killer Chardonnay last weekend at a Pope Valley Napa wine tasting event from a totally unexpected winery.

So why are you not dead yet?

dalylink wrote:Loved their Pinot Noir from the previous Woot offering when I had it. I'd much rather be looking at a Pinot Gris. Not sure I can bring myself to drop that much for a Chard.

Now WD, if you talked to Buena Vista who's selling off all their older inventory, and got them to do their Ramal Chard for $15, (as with their slightly dearer PN on other Sites That Shall Not Be Named) we'd all have to bite. Positively Burgundy-worthy, though their 07's all out.

tetragrlnv wrote:
This wine can age, this wine is drinking beautifully, this wine was rated 91 Points, and is in my opinion a flippin' steal at $25 when it normally goes for $45...

I'm thinking this wine is Black Tie worthy. Yeah... pretty damn confident about that. But try it man. You make the call.

Can you comment on the previous post regarding the average price in cellar tracker being $22? Have these been even more heavily discounted in the past?

tetragrlnv wrote:(As dictated by winemaker to me...)

Buddy, Black Tie worthiness is decided by the drinker (and frankly by Woot who as an outside 3rd party felt it had the goods.) This is my baby here. You are asking me to validate my baby??? It's worthy of the crown jewels of England as far as I'm concerned...

Okay in all seriousness - Gap's Crown is an incredible vineyard site. It's known (just like Expression) for it's Pinot - but the Chard from that vineyard is like the hot little sister that no-one saw coming.

The vineyard itself is situated on a hillside in "The Gap" aka the Petaluma Wind Gap. Or as I like to think of it - the "Holy Grail."

Let me break it down for you:

Hillside vineyard (abundant solar radiation) + close proximity to the Pacific Ocean via "The Gap" (natural air-conditioning) = cold light. The KEY to allowing for perfect ripening of Chardonnay.

Complexity is inherit from the variation of Dijon clones at Gap's Crown and I make my selections at harvest time with that in mind. Those slight variations and nuances will come through in the wine (obviously you know this as a wine drinker) and bringing those together in the cellar to make the perfect Expression (pun intended) of Chardonnay is my goal.

I take a cue from the golden standard of Chardonnay - White Burgundy - and barrel ferment the wines on French Oak (2 yr and older)for eleven months in cold cellars where I let the wines develop enhanced by the slow inclusion of buttery notes that never, never over power the fruit.

This wine can age, this wine is drinking beautifully, this wine was rated 91 Points, and is in my opinion a flippin' steal at $25 when it normally goes for $45...

I'm thinking this wine is Black Tie worthy. Yeah... pretty damn confident about that. But try it man. You make the call.

This sound pretty good. Especially if that hot little sister ... ahem. Anyway, how is balanced malo, oak and fruit is indeed IIRC a good recipe for sturdy Chard, and the pH is pretty sharp too, but how is this modern central coast if it's Burgundian? I like this style I think, and want to age some, but what's the "modern" component?

Can you tell us something about the other winerys' Chardonnays that you admire, drink ad appreciate, whether in CA, OR, or la France?!

trifecta wrote:Can you comment on the previous post regarding the average price in cellar tracker being $22? Have these been even more heavily discounted in the past?

i remember to tell myself in these situations that to refuse a good deal because someone just had a slightly better deal is often a mistake.

So, they're clearing inventory, at a discount. And this style is better now than it is younger. Double deal!

richardhod wrote:i remember to tell myself in these situations that to refuse a good deal because someone just had a slightly better deal is often a mistake.

So, they're clearing inventory, at a discount. And this style is better now than it is younger. Double deal!

Agreed. I wasn't trying to say it wasn't a good deal, but rather asking why the average was so low. It sounds as if all the bottles in CT were purchased way lower than retail. I have other go to barrel fermented chards that I really love that go for less, so I am out on this one.

richardhod wrote:i remember to tell myself in these situations that to refuse a good deal because someone just had a slightly better deal is often a mistake.

So, they're clearing inventory, at a discount. And this style is better now than it is younger. Double deal!

Grazie Richardhod. Couldn't have said it mo' better.

trifecta wrote:Agreed. I wasn't trying to say it wasn't a good deal, but rather asking why the average was so low. It sounds as if all the bottles in CT were purchased way lower than retail. I have other go to barrel fermented chards that I really love that go for less, so I am out on this one.

Ah Trifecta...ya gotta do what ya gotta do....

tetragrlnv wrote:Ah Trifecta...ya gotta do what ya gotta do....

So no response....?

trifecta wrote:Agreed. I wasn't trying to say it wasn't a good deal, but rather asking why the average was so low. It sounds as if all the bottles in CT were purchased way lower than retail. I have other go to barrel fermented chards that I really love that go for less, so I am out on this one.

it's a matter of money v quality, and that's always a subjective matter, and as always, is it better than the rest at its price? important question, as here we look for value with our quality and that's why we have.... RATS!!!!
Wait, HAD labrats.
Amazon, we do not like your policies.

richardhod wrote:This sound pretty good. Especially if that hot little sister ... ahem. Anyway, how is balanced malo, oak and fruit is indeed IIRC a good recipe for sturdy Chard, and the pH is pretty sharp too, but how is this modern central coast if it's Burgundian? I like this style I think, and want to age some, but what's the "modern" component?

Can you tell us something about the other winerys' Chardonnays that you admire, drink ad appreciate, whether in CA, OR, or la France?!

Ah yes, the question of "modern". Well - I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Chardonnay, so right there, you might say the wine can't be "modern". But the reviewer at W.E. who tasted the wine and wrote the notes that my sales manager posted online felt the subtle oak and bright style was simply more befitting to the "modern" palate of today's Chard drinker. Big oak has its place, but all you 20, 30, 40 somethings seem to like it a lil' lighter. That happens to work with my wine-making style and the expression of our vineyards so its kinda a beautiful thing.

As far as Chardonnays I admire - well they run the range. Meursault oui, Meursault - is a region I enjoy - especially Genevrieres. The minerality is lovely. Bergstrom in OR takes a beautifully minimalist "Burgundian" approach to wine-growing and elevage in the cellar. And on the heavier end of the spectrum I admire Kistler. Top notch. Ripe yet restrained. Good stuff.

(One last little thing... Gap's Crown is decidedly Sonoma Coast not Central Coast. In case that wasn't a type-o)

That said, I hope you take little sister out for a spin. ;)

trifecta wrote:So no response....?

No, that is definitely a response. If you have go-to barrel fermented Chards that you enjoy at a lower price and you feel uncomfortable paying $25 for Gap's Crown - you will be buying the cheaper bottles, no?

I'm not taking offense here - but I hope you have a chance to taste my 2008 Gap's in the future. Hard to judge a wine on price alone...