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Product Name
Vintage
Price
Varietal
Country
Region
Appellation
Size
Additional Discount
Original Item
2012
$20.24
Chardonnay
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
N/A
Better Price
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More Details
Vintage: 2012
2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in.
The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
Varietal: Chardonnay
Despite having its origins in western France, Chardonnay's immense popularity and flexibility quickly meant that before long, there wasn't a wine producing country in the world which wasn't investing in this fascinating and versatile grape varietal. Today, Chardonnays manage to win fine wine competitions and satisfy supermarket shoppers simultaneously, due to the fact that this grape varietal can take on many characteristics and features of where it is grown and how it is handled. Indeed, this green skinned grape is renowned for not having so much unique flavor within the fruit, but is very sensitive to the features of the terroir it is grown in, as well as to aging As such, it isn't unusual to find bottles of single variety Chardonnay wine described as holding notes of white stone, mountain waters, or other such geological features alongside the more predictable fruit descriptions This makes Chardonnay grape varietal wines an exciting world to delve into – full of surprises, full of delights.
Region: California
California has long been the New World's most important and prodigious wine producing regions, with a history which stretches back to the 18th century and the Spanish pioneers who settled here. Today, California produces vast quantities of wine, and if it were a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine on earth. Despite experiencing many problems in the mid 20th century, including a very serious blight which almost crippled the state's wine industry, the ideal terroir and excellent climate ensured that Californian wines soon became the envy of the New World once again. California produces a vast range of wines, and utilizes a long list of fine grape varietals, with many wineries and their produce more closely resembling those of France and other Old World countries in regards to character, practices and flavors
Country: United States
Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.
Appellation: Sonoma Valley
Often referred to as the 'birthplace of Californian wines', the beautiful and expansive Sonoma Valley has long been seen as something of a vibrant and beating heart within the American wine industry. The 'valley of the moon', as it is affectionately known, benefits enormously from the blazing Californian sunshine it receives throughout the long, hot and dry summers, and exceptionally warm autumns in which the vast array of grape varietals found there ripen. Sonoma Valley is most famous for big, full-bodied and flavorful red wine grapes, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as many excellent white wine grapes. Due to the volcanic soils of the region, fed by thermal springs packed full of minerals, the soil is wonderfully fertile and capable of supporting a wide variety of grape species.