Disclaimer: Don’t drink if you’re under 21, don’t buy alcohol for minors and always drink responsibly.
When you can’t decide between two things, what do you do? This was my dilemma this week, so I chose both. Therefore, this week you get a comparison of two different white wines, both from the same region.
Olema chardonnay reserve and River Road chardonnay are both from Sonoma, which is a region famous for its wine. When trying out these two wines, I invited over Sophie Jamieson, a fourth-year who admitted she doesn’t know too much about wine.
After tasting the Olema chardonnay reserve, Jamieson said “I don’t usually like the taste of wine, but this one surprised me.” The Olema features aromas of citrus and apple. As a person who enjoys citrus flavored beverages, the aroma feels both familiar and inviting, but also new.
“I really liked this one, it reminds me of apple juice,” Jamieson said. While I do agree with her, there is definitely a deeper layer of flavor and complexity to uncover with Olema.
The flavor is reminiscent of buttered toast, plain toasted bread or baked apple with a soft hint of vanilla. While these flavors are very defined alone, they are blended together beautifully in this chardonnay. There is a slight acidity to it, but the flavor is enhanced when you eat something with salt.
Olema is beautiful on its own, perfect for those warm summer days when you’re sitting outside with a glass of wine. It also pairs well with dishes of grilled fish, chicken or shellfish which are often more on the saltier side.
Jamieson and I both agreed that this is a wine we would want to drink again, and at the price of $19.99 at Total Wine & More, it’s an easy choice! If only I could say the same about our next wine.
The River Road chardonnay. Where to begin?
River Road is far more acidic and almost bitter. Usually I don’t mind a bit of acidity in a wine, but in this instance it gave us both an unpleasant taste. We quickly moved back to Olema after taste-testing.
There are notes of pear, butter and hints of citrus and vanilla, but they are hard to catch given the strong character of oak. The aromas mirror the Olema a lot which is why I am surprised about the significant difference.
The thought of the wine having gone bad did cross my mind, however, there are some distinct aromas that give you the clue. Professional wine tasters have described the aroma as appearing instant, and smelling as either one (or more) out of these three:
- If something happens with the cork of the bottle, it will often smell like a moist dirt cellar, and mold can be seen at the bottom of the bottle because oxygen has entered the bottle.
- Second is ethyl acetate, and for all of us who did not major in science, it’s an ester of ethanol (which is found in wine) and acetic acid. You have probably encountered this smell, because it’s exactly like nail polish remover or paint stripper.
- The final one is reductive. It can be a style of creating wine which minimizes the wine’s access to oxygen. It’s quite common for many wine types because it creates a good foundation for a fruity wine. However this also has a distinct smell like sulfur.
A fun fact with these things in mind: when you’re at a restaurant and the wine is presented for you to taste, it’s actually not to deem if it pairs well with your food. It’s to ensure none of the three things above have happened to the wine.
Most wines can be stored, which allows them to develop an even richer and more complex flavor profile. When storing a wine they need to be in a cool and dark area, preferably with no sunlight. However, there are some wines which cannot be stored. White wines often fall into this category. If you do store a wine which is not suitable for storing, you can often encounter the same as when a wine goes bad. Since this wine was sitting in a box since early in this semester, it shouldn’t go bad this quick.
At the time of writing this review, the River Road is not in our Total Wine & More. Honestly, you’re not losing out. River Road has other chardonnays at Total Wine & More, but I say stick with the Olema chardonnay reserve.
Olema chardonnay reserve offers a lot of value for the price, and it’s almost sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Cheers!