The Data

Country   USA

Appellation   Dry Creek Valley

Varietal   Chardonnay

Retail Price   $59

ABV   13.75%

Score   4.5 Stars/96 points

In the Glass

Brilliant, light to medium green/gold color.

The aromatics are intense, offering scents of green apple, honeysuckle, and lychee with supporting notes of green melon, slate, bees wax, and hints of brioche.

The palate confirms the nose delivering a ripe orchard fruits-driven core with flavors of white peach, tropical fruit, apricot stone, and citrus zest. The finish is long and lingering with mineral and citrus notes.

Medium to full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a vibrant yet supple texture.

Cool Factor

Chardonnay from one of our desert island wine producers made with a Montrachet clone and no oak — very, very cool.

Value Grade

Handmade Chardonnay from Dry Creek crafted in limited quantities is never to be found in the bargain aisle but we find this wine to be irresistible. Get it while it lasts.

Analysis

The Magnolia Montrachet moniker and label is a new one for Tongue Dancer Wines (TDW) while this wine is in its second vintage. Yes — slightly confusing but not really. In the 2012 vintage TDW offered a Chardonnay under their cheeky Sly One label with fruit from this same source. This source vineyard, the Tolmasoff Vineyard, is planted with the Montrachet clone — a name very familiar to white Burgundy lovers. The vineyard was planted in 2017 and thus far TDW is the only winemaker trusted with this gorgeous fruit. Like the 2021 Sly One, it’s all concrete fermented in a round, concrete “hippo” and then aged on its lees for 10 months time. There is no oak used in the making of this wine. It’s a real beauty and proves that wines do not need oak for structure and also proves once again that TDW knows a thing or two about creating world-class wines.

How to Enjoy

Of course this wine needs nothing but a glass but it is food friendly with its great depth and natural acidity that it begs for grilled shrimp or sautéed scallops. This is a wine for your cellar so get bottles for now and some more bottles fro later.