By The Glass
CHUCK FURUYA
2000 Babcock
‘Grand Cuvee’ tops
chardonnay favoritesOne terrific source for finding good new wines is to ask savvy professionals. I make it a point to visit a few progressive retail stores or restaurants during my travels and talk to the wine buyer. To keep things simple, I focus my questions: "Who are 10 of your favorite chardonnay producers," or "Who are your 10 favorite pinot noir producers?" -- and the list goes on.
To show you how this works, I asked four restaurant managers to name five California chardonnay producers they really like. I also asked them for a chardonnay that represented a great value.
Their favorite was the 2000 Babcock "Grand Cuvee," which made all four lists. Wines from Au Bon Climat and Edmeades wineries were named by three of the four.
"Bryan's wines have a lot of intensity to them," the Halekulani's Randy Ching said of winemaker Bryan Babcock. "This chardonnay is well-textured and has a lot of finesse."
Mark Shishido of Alan Wong's credits the quality of the other two chardonnays to their winemakers. Jim Clendenen at Au Bon Climat "is certainly one of the finest winemakers in America. Nothing is overdone. ... His wines are very stylish, balanced, complex and not over the top." Van Williamson at Edmeades, Shishido said, makes wine that "reflect power, concentration and balance and are truly benchmark for the Mendocino/Anderson Valley areas."
Here are some other highlights from their lists:
Randy Ching (wine master for the Halekulani): Patz & Hall ("I love the intensity of their wines and how well-integrated the oak always is.") Robert Talbott ("This wine is really put together, and has a real roundness to it.") Kistler ("Great intensity and always very complex.") Kalin "The 1981 "LV" was the most high-impact California Chardonnay I had ever had. It was 11 years old and so beautifully balanced." Value: Edmeades.
Mike Webber (general manager, Roy's Kahana Bar & Grill): Talley "Arroyo Grande" ("Bigger than the rest, but still food-friendly and a great value.") Whitcraft ("I just love the wine's minerality and length." Value: Charles "Family Reserve"
Mark Shishido (manager, Alan Wong's Pineapple Room): Lottorai ("The wines reflect winemaker Ted Lemon's Burgundian background and where he gets the grapes from.") Value: Babcock or Edmeades.
Nunzio Alioto (master Sommelier and managing partner, Alioto's Restaurant, San Francisco): Ridd "Bacigalupi," Hanzell, Forman. Value: Stony Hill
I think it is great that the group chose wines from many different growing regions. Enjoy.
Chuck Furuya is president of Fine Wine Imports and Hawaii's only master sommelier.
This column is a weekly lesson in wine
pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals.
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