Sawtooth Winery makes a broad range of wines. Most are varietally labeled wines, though they do produce a blend called Skyline Red. In addition to dry table wines, Sawtooth also makes several dessert wines. The selection I'm going to look at today is from their reserve line.
The 2006 Reserve Chardonnay was aged in small oak barrels for 6 months. Fruit was sourced from Sawtooth Vineyard. Alcohol is 13.5%, which is modest for a New World Chardonnay. Only 140 cases of this wine were produced. The retail price is $14.99.
Mango, pineapple and vanilla dominate the nose of this Chardonnay. This wine has a rich found mouth feel full of intense fruit flavor. It's big, bright and the fruit just explodes forth from the glass. The oak treatment is evident but never detracts from the fruit. The finish is impressive in length with lingering vanilla and nutmeg spice notes. For a Chardonnay this wine will match up with fairly rich cuisine. Mushroom Ravioli with Pecorino Romano Cream sauce comes to mind, as does Chicken Pot Pie.
Chardonnay is one of the varietals I can personally be the most finicky about. There is so much of it out there in general that it's often hard to weed through and find exciting or even examples. It's even more difficult to find Chardonnay I like for a good price. At $14.99 I think the Sawtooth Reserve Chardonnay is an absolute steal. It explodes with fruit flavor and has enough oak on it to provide a nice level of complexity. As indicated this is a small production, if you like rich, fruit driven Chardonnay, grab this while it's available. This is another reasonably priced, full flavored offering from Sawtooth Winery.
Up Next: A look at Sawtooth Winery's Tempranillo.
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