Volume 33, Issue 8: June 2009
Pinot Noir SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Has Pinot Noir surpassed Cabernet Sauvignon as California's leading variety? The many great wines found in this Issue make a strong argument in support of that notion. Chardonnay SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Every few years, it seems, a new and improved model of Chardonnay arrives on the scene. Today's California versions of the grape are much better balanced and will live longer than their counterparts of just a few years ago. Best Buys SUBSCRIBERS ONLY An East Coast wine blog recently suggested that there were few fairly priced California wines. Apparently he has not been reading our Best Buys columns. We told him he was missing the boat, and you will be too if you do not tune in to our monthly excursions into the land of Good Values.				SUBSCRIBERS ONLY CONNOISSEURS' FORUMS with edtiors Charles Olken and Stephen Eliot. · wine price vs rating 2007 Pahlmeyer Winery Chardonnay Napa Valley The new kid on the block from Pahlmeyer follows brilliantly in the footsteps laid down by its predecessors going back now more than half a decade. It is an amazing record of achievement that is seconded by the 2006 Chardonnay also reviewed in this Issue, and it places Pahlmeyer solidly in the pantheon of outstanding Chardonnay producers in California. This wine, if anything, is too young even to be considered for drinking. It may have a strong, bold personality highlighted by sweet appley scents and smoky oak overlays, but it is also tight in the latter palate and has not begun to open up fully. Lay it down for a year or three or more and drink the 2006 in the meantime. $70.00 Score: 95