The color on this Pinot is beautiful. The fringe (the lip around the liquid) is clear and the wine displays a boisterous red, almost exclaiming, “I’m good” quality with the color.

The nose on had a few layers of complexity. Standing out in the spotlight was the classic bing cherry, a classic and stereotypical piece to a pinot. But it didn’t stop there. This wine goes a bit deeper in the fruit tray by displaying subtle hints of not-ripe plums. You can smell them sitting on the tree still displaying a sweetness to them. In addition, you also get a black berry resting ever so slightly. It took me at least a few whiffs to get it out. 

The word that accurately describes the feel of this wine on the attack and mid-palate is silky, tart and a tad leathery (ok, so that was more than 1 word). It’s as if I literally had a silky tongue and the wine glided right by, though making sure to drop it’s calling card to each of my taste buds. Very very subtle tannins that should dissipate in a matter of months. The black berries come out bit stronger on the taste, almost sitting 50/50 with the cherries. A scrumptious Pinot with loads of fruit on the palate. The finish is equally beautiful, trailing off after a minute or two longer to linger around. 

Overall this wine is divine. There are no jolts, buzzes or attacks to my senses whatsoever. A big thumbs up to the winemaker for finding the proper length to age these grapes in the barrel. 

As I mentioned before, I’d recommend letting this rest for another year to fully let the tannins go to sleep. 

Price: $40

Where you can get this wine: shop.laetitia.com/

The color is light in color, yellow to clear. At first glance, my mind went over to the Viognier side due to its lighter complexion. No gold at all here.

On the nose, this wine exhibits hints of honey dew topped with gorgonzola cheese along with a bit of lemon dripped on top. If you reach for it, you can find that butter, but it is very slight. The overall feel of the nose is acidic and leans heavily towards the citrus side. This wine does well after opening for about an hour. At first sniff, the wine displayed much more citrus aspects, sliding towards the melon family. Yet, after giving it a chance to breathe, the small pieces of gorgonzola cheese came to rest on the honeydew and melon and the lemon started to shine.

For how clear the Scheid Chardonnay is, I was impressed at how well it coated my tongue and the wine gave off a larger mouth feel than I was expecting. The honeydew continued onto the mid-palate and continued until it trailed off on the finish. There was a buttery complex to the taste, but it was more of a non-fat buttery style. If you are a bit perplexed by this, try a glass of non-fat milk and then 2% milk. The 2% is much thicker than the non-fat.

The finish is clean and even. The honeydew, as I mentioned before, is there on the finish, but the wine picks up some more lemon at the very end. This is one of the few wines where I’ve seen a flavor at the beginning and at the very end, literally disappearing during the middle. While it could be drank solo, I’d give this wine an entrée or an appetizer for it to really flourish. 

A delectable wine that utilizes two different fermentations styles, 70% stainless steel & 30% French Oak barrels. A great combo. For a slight departure from the California too-much-oak Chardonnay, check out the 2006 Scheid Chardonnay

Where you can buy this wine:
You can buy this wine directly from Scheid at http://www.scheidvineyards.com/. 

Cost:
$22