Golden Chardonnay 2021 750ml

$20.00

Golden comes out of Monterey County and leans right into its name. Clear glass, golden liquid, nothing hidden. The handling is careful for the price: hand-picked fruit, hand sorting, a soft bladder press, then six months in used French oak that rounds the texture instead of taking it over. Rich, tropical, a little toasty. A crowd-pleaser Chardonnay that punches above its shelf price.

Custard and preserved lemon on the nose with flint, crushed pineapple, mango and dried apricot. Medium-bodied, dry but fruity, closing on salted caramel and roasted cashew with moderate oak.

Classic matches for Chardonnay: Roast chicken, lobster or crab with butter, corn dishes, soft creamy cheeses.

Fruit is Monterey County. Grapes are hand picked into half-ton bins and hand sorted at Folktale Winery, softly pressed in their bladder press, then aged six months in one and two-year-old French oak barrels from that same cellar. The 2021 took bronze at the Korea Wine Challenge.