Carmody McKnight Estate Wines

Carmody-McKnight prides itself as a maker of estate wines, and this Chardonnay is yet another example of how much variety can be extracted from a single vineyard. Using the classic Chablis style of processing, the “Day in the Country” is made partially from “free-run” juice – not pressed, but juice allowed to run freely from the fruit. It never sees oak, except when it is a grape, hanging on the vines among the oak-studded vineyards that make up the Carmody-McKnight estate. This hillside vineyard is in the far western reaches of Paso Robles, where fingers of fog caress the vines nearly every morning. Harvested from Block 1, which gets about 3 tons per acre, this wine was pressed into steel tanks where it underwent fermentation, followed by aging for 10 months before bottling.

The result is a pure expression of terroir: nothing but unadulterated fruit and minerality, so clean and crisp, yet incredibly rich. An intensely floral and fruity wine, the bouquet is filled with aromas of daffodils, jasmine, clover honey and ripe melon. Despite the lack of oak, it is heady rich on the palate, with gobs of wildflower honey, lilac, orange blossoms and dripping ripe pears, casaba melon, and starfruit. There is a hint of ginger and a touch of butterscotch on the surprisingly rich finish. Enjoy with a picnic of cold fried chicken and a fruit salad, on a blanket under an oak tree, somewhere out in the country. Or, if you prefer, pair it with a nice duck confit over watercress and arugula, out in the cabana.

Reviewed June 30, 2008 by Laura Ness.