Continuing with my Gallo tasting we move to the William Hill Estate Winery, 2009 Napa Valley Chardonnay. If you do not like a heavy, oaky, buttery Chardonnay this is not the wine for you.
The Chardonnay grapes were pressed as whole clusters. After settling overnight they were racked, inoculated and fermented in new and used oak barrels and all the wine underwent malolactic fermentation. Some of the wine was racked off the lees after primary fermentation, others were allowed to sit on the lees during aging. The final blending, blended the two lots.
This wine had quite a body to it. On the nose I got some toasty oak and a hint of spice with some butter. The palate lends itself to some tree fruit flavors and a long finish with hints of melted butter. The oak was well balanced. It does have a hint of sweetness to it with .67 g/100ml of residual sugar to balance out the acidity.
This would be a great wine to pair with lobster tails! This wine retails for $25
