TN: '06 Beringer Private Reserve Chardonnay

How much did you pay? I saw it on sale for $28 at Haskell's here in Mpls.

I want to say $26.99 at Costco?

• 2006 Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/3/2009)
  Funny to see a prior note mentioning Chateau Montelena, as my first sip of this brought that immediately to mind. Very gold in color but a clear hue throughout. A nice hit of oak, vanilla, green apple and some melon. A nice QPR for a summer house chard. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

If you want a fun evening, take this wine, the 2006 Beringer Sbragia Limited Release Chard, and the 2007 Sbragia Home Ranch Chard and do a blind tasting. 92 points all. Three very different wines....

quote:

Originally posted by Dom'n'Vin'sDad:
If you want a fun evening, take this wine, the 2006 Beringer Sbragia Limited Release Chard, and the 2007 Sbragia Home Ranch Chard and do a blind tasting. 92 points all. Three very different wines....

DnVD-

I did this with the 2005 Beringer Sbragia and PR. It was very interesting. However, I'm going to need you to send me a bottle of the 2006 PR this year (in order to repeat the excercise). After all, you have CASES of it sitting aroung, right? You probably use them as ottomans.

No cases of the PR, actually only two bottles - but that could be remedied pretty easy. As for the Beringer Sbragia, with parties and neighborhood BBQ's, we have probably gone through four cases in the last eight months or so. And still have a case + sitting around.

Sorry for the thread drift, drab...

This was similar to the 2005 I had a while back, but it was more elegant and displayed more fruit and less burdening oak. Nose of tropical fruit salad, golden apples, lemon custard, ginger spice, hazelnut, buttered popcorn - good balance between fruit and oak but unmistakably California and a bit boring at that; even though you can feel the quality coming off the nose, there isn't anything interesting there to give you a pause and a thought. In any case, the palate was great - rich, medium-to full body; extremely smooth and silky; great deal of tropical fruit and butterscotch on the palate, but a little bit of alcoholic sting as well; good acidity that was integrated throughout rather than present as a spiny beam; overall good balance and a lasting finish. Overall, a good Chardonnay but not worth the ~C$50- we pay up here. A little uninteresting. 90 points.

For me...these wines are best, fresh, right out of the starting gates. They just don't ever improve, or warrant aging...

In some vintages the PR Chards need a little bottle time (not talking five years or anything) to let the oak better integrate. But I would agree that generally, these are ready to go.

• 2006 Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley (5/14/2010)
  This was the third consecutive vintage of this wine that I have tried, and, to me, the most balanced. Medium-gold color; tropical fruits, apple, spice, stone, vanilla, and buttery oak on the nose; excellent weight on the palate, with nice fruit and the right amount of acidity; medium finish. The alcohol seems to have integrated at this point, so no unpleasantness there. Drink now. (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

quote:

Originally posted by gigabit:

• 2006 Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley (5/14/2010)
  This was the third consecutive vintage of this wine that I have tried, and, to me, the most balanced. Medium-gold color; tropical fruits, apple, spice, stone, vanilla, and buttery oak on the nose; excellent weight on the palate, with nice fruit and the right amount of acidity; medium finish. The alcohol seems to have integrated at this point, so no unpleasantness there. Drink now. (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

I'd give it the same notes but score it a little higher. Alcohol had definitely integrated at this point. For my tastes it was a 92 or so.