Mt Eden Chardonnay 2001 Estate Bottling.

I'm not much of an expert, but I have found that the flavors tend to be stronger when wine is warmer. There is more nose, and more... uh... thickness, to the wine. Chill it and it becomes more crisp, more sharp.

I prefer my reds wamrer for this reason; they are more flavorful. However, some of the pleasure of white wines is the crispness. The sharpness lends a bit to the flavors and sometimes the full palate of flavors at room temperature is overwhelming and blurs the wine. (I prefer to be blurry ¯ter= the wine. :)

I would speculate that in some cases, the specific flavors in the wine don't blur - they complement nicely even when amplified by temperature, and what you had was an example of this. Perhaps it's a case of having þwer= flavors, and thus a cleaner warm palate, sort of like hitting fewer notes when striking a bass chord as opposed to a chord in the treble range.

Jose

Well, my eyesight was definitly blurry after the wine...does that count :-)

dick

Dick,

Not sure exactly what you mean by "room temp," but bigger Chards show much better when warmer. I usually open these out of the cellar (55F). Lighter, chrisper whites seem to benefit from a bit more chilling. It really depends on the wine, but Montrachets, and similar, both domestic and imported really show their stuff, with a bit of warmth. If the wine is too cool, cup your hands around the glass (yes, I know, fingerprints, etc., etc.), but give it some time, and see what develops.

Hunt

Hunt,

Thanks. I have been drinking mostly reds until a New Years party for

The Xenius arrived in late October and freinds came by that got engaged and we drank some, then other friends had a baby, we drank some...and on when December was around the corner we had consumer 2 of the 10 cases we felt we needed. So back to buy more.

We loved this wine and then saw it on TV when they were showing New Years choices for parties. They did a sparrkling tasting and ours won. GREAT....

We have never seen this wine again.

Morale of story: I spent all my big bucks on reds and ignored whites for years. Now, I find I missed out and whites can be every bit as enjoyable as reds.

I just don't quite understand my taste preferances yet on whites and why I like some over others. Temps, etc.

There are so many wonderful wines, of ALL colors, that it can be limiting to just go with one. My wife broke me from the Rose, red rut many years ago, and introduced me to many excellent sparklers, plus a ton of whites. I have since developed a taste for more "exotic" whites, than she ever has, but I've also introduced her to many reds, that she is likely to not have tried, otherwise. I still cannot get her into NZ SB's, but she does like many "domestic" products - guess that the grapefruit turns her off a bit. Maybe she did too many grapefruit diets in college?

While we each have some favorites, I comb the shelves for interesting-sounding wines from all regions of the globe. I'm not usually looking for truly obscure wines, or regions, just ones that pair well with my meals, or are enjoyable, by themselves (yes, I know, one is NOT supposed to just enjoy a wine by itself... ).

I've been working with my wine group here, to bring them along toward an appreciation of Roses, and some lighter reds (1er Cru BJ, as per another thread), but they are kicking and screaming. I guess that the "stigma" of White Zin scares them off. Life is not just Cab & Chard, but much, much more.

And to your Cava - I have not had that producer's wine, but love many. I lean a bit (now) toward Tattinger's for the toasty elements, but do a fair amount of Brut Rose for food pairings. In PHX, one doesn't see that much Cava, but I keep looking.

Hunt

Agreed...time to venture out.

Will keep trying. When it comes to Chard there are only certain profiles I seem to care for. Very limited.