In April, Clos La Chance Winery in San Martin named Chardonnay their Wine of The Month.
Some of you may recall that I reviewed some of their wines after visiting the winery.
When I shared my post with CLC on Facebook, it entered me into a contest to win a bottle of their 2008 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay.
Well…
Guess who won?
A cold bucket of Chardonnay on a hot day. You can’t beat that with a bat, foo.
So…
This past Sunday, we took a trip over to the winery to enjoy this beautiful bottle of Chardonnay on their patio.
While we were there, we also hit up another class with Estate Sommelier, Roy Froom, to learn about May’s Wine of the Month…
Yeah… Cabernet Sauvignon’s got class. It’s taught by Roy Froom.
During the second half of the class, we got to enjoy two fantastic wines by Clos La Chance…
Clos La Chance 2009 Whitestone Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and Clos La Chance 2009 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
We started with the Estate Cab.
Here are some facts about the wine.
And my take…
Color: Purplish red.
Nose: Blueberry and plum fruit with a hint of oak and chalk dust (You know I love chalk!).
Taste: Fruits of blackberry, dry cherries, and red currant. There is a great acidity to this one, but the tannins are a bit too astringent for me.
Score: In spite of the off tannins, if given time, I see this wine hitting it’s groove very soon. 91+
Up next…
Clos La Chance 2009 Whitestone Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Color: On the red side of purple.
Nose: Blueberry, lavender, and rubber balls. Yummy!
Taste: There is a great chalkiness (Yes!) and acid play to this wine. I love the herbacious finish of rosemary and menthol. Good cherry fruit and tea leaf.
Score: If you love blueberry, chalk, and tea leaf notes to your wine… You will love this… As do I. 93.
You have to know that I would totally go back to school if all the classes I took were like this one.
Thanks for the wine and the class, Clos La Chance.
Now, can someone call me a Cab?
Cabernet Sauvignon, that is…
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Tags: 2008 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay, 2009 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 Whitestone Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, clos la chance, Jeff, Roy Froom, Stay Rad, Wine of the Month
Stay Rad 
May 24, 2012 at 8:53 am |
The other night I ordered a glass of Clos La Chance Chardonnay at Cafe Cruz, thinking of all the good stuff you write about them. And honestly it was awful. But perhaps the bottle had been opened too long? It’s a definite possibility. I should probably just go there. I hear the scenery is not bad. 😉
May 24, 2012 at 11:40 am |
Some of their stuff can be hit or miss. Their Hummingbird (Grocery Store) Cab used to be a lot better. I’ve never put their wine in the awful category before, however… Which wine did you order?
May 24, 2012 at 4:27 pm |
Were the cab grapes picked from the same vines for both wines? I noticed the Designate is from a surrounding hillside.
May 24, 2012 at 5:07 pm |
Yeah. The Whitestone block is on this really hilly patch on the estate. The best of the best grow this block goes into the Whitestone. What’s left goes into the estate cab.
May 24, 2012 at 8:31 pm
Thanks, Jeff. Grapes love those hills don’t they?