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Product Name
Vintage
Price
Varietal
Country
Region
Appellation
Size
Additional Discount
Original Item
2012
$54.04
Chardonnay
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
12B / $53.29
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Chardonnay
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
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2021
$54.90
Chardonnay
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
12B / $51.30
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2017
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Chardonnay
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
More Details
Winery
Chateau Boswell
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
For most people, the Chardonnay grape varietal is one of the quintessential white wine grapes. It isn't difficult to understand why; Chardonnay may well have started off in regions of France (where it is still used widely today in both single variety white wines as well as sparkling Champagne wines) but it is now grown in every wine producing country in the world. Indeed, it was the New World that took Chardonnay to some exciting new extremes – this relatively neutral grape has the fantastic ability to carry much of its terroir in the bottle, resulting in a fascinating range of flavors and styles. Furthermore, Chardonnay is one of the few white wine grapes which is well suited to aging, as can be seen in some of the excellent produce consistently coming out of Burgundy, and elsewhere in the world. With everything from buttery, creamy characteristics to vibrant tropical fruit notes, Chardonnay will never cease to surprise and impress.
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
The first European settlers to consider growing grapevines in the United States must have been delighted when they discovered the now famous wine regions within California, Oregon and elsewhere. Not even in the Old World are there such fertile valleys, made ideal for vine cultivation by the blazing sunshine, long, hot summers and oceanic breezes. As such, it comes as little surprise that today more than eighty-nine percent of United States wines are grown in the valleys and on the mountainsides of California, where arguably some of the finest produce in the world is found. However, American wine does not begin and end with California, and due to the vast size of the country and the incredible range of terrains and climates found within the United States, there is probably no other country on earth which produces such a massive diversity of wines. From ice wines in the northern states, to sparkling wines, aromatized wines, fortified wines, reds, whites, rosés and more, the United States has endless surprises in store for lovers of New World wines.
Appellation: Sonoma Valley
The Valley of the Moon, as Sonoma Valley is widely known, has been one of the United States' most important and widely recognized wine regions for well over a century now, and upholds a firm belief in quality over quantity when it comes to the produce that is made in the dozens of wineries which make up the region. Helped by blazing Californian sunshine alongside mineral rich volcanic soils and geothermal springs, the grape varietals which grow in Sonoma Valley end up being packed full of fascinating flavors and aromas which are then transferred to the bottle. The past decade has seen the region expand more than ever before, and with more favorable weather conditions and a growing reputation for excellence, the wineries of Sonoma Valley are set to continue doing what they do best: making high quality, flavorful and characterful American wines.