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by Fred McMillin
for June 2003
How Much Should You Pay
For The Best Chardonnay?
Current "On Wine"
Wine Archive
Prologue
"We tasted 60 American Chardonnays that cost between $20 and $50. We found that the most expensive wines weren't the best. In fact, three of our six favorites cost less than $25."
Gaiter and Brecher
Wall Street Journal
The Rest of the Story
To check this, we paired nine California Chardonnays costing between $20 and $25 with nine costing between $30 and $50. Here are the winners of each match. The highest-rated wine is listed last. Thus, the further you read, the better the wine.
The Winning Chardonnays
| Rank | Low Cost | High Cost | The Wine | |||
| 9th | $35 | Staglin Family, Napa Valley, 2000 | ||||
| 8th | $39 | Clos du Val Reserve, Napa Valley, 2000 | ||||
| 7th | $33 | Grgich Hills, Napa Valley, 2000 | ||||
| 6th | $20 | Sattui, Carsi Vineyard, Napa Valley, 2000 | ||||
| 5th | $30 | Davis Bynum, Russian River Valley, 2000 | ||||
| 4th | $40 | Byron, Nielson Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley, 1999 | ||||
| 3rd | $42 | Jarvis, Napa Valley, 1999 | ||||
| 2nd | $24 | Chateau St. Jean, Belle Terre Vineyard, Alexander Valley, 2000 | ||||
| 1st | $20 | St. Clement, Abbotts Vineyard, Napa Valley, 1999 |
So How Much Should You Pay To Get The Best?
The Wall Street Journal found three winning Chardonnays under $25 (see Note 1) and so did we. However, if you buy an under $25 bottle and a $30 plus model, our results say that two times out of three, you will prefer the MORE EXPENSIVE bottle...more intensity, more clove, more vanilla, more body, etc. So, the odds are that when you find your very favorite Chardonnay, the price will be well over $25.
Notes:
1) The Journal's three were by Robert Mondavi, Joseph Phelps and Miner Family Vineyards.
2) Research assistance by Mr. And Mrs. Joe Lorentz.
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About the Writer
Fred McMillin, a veteran wine writer, has taught wine history for 30 years on three continents. For information about the wine courses he teaches every month at either San Francisco State University or San Francisco City College (Fort Mason Division), please fax him at (415) 567-4468. |
This page created June 2003