Talley Vineyards Rosemary's Chardonnay 2018 & Oliver's Chardonnay 2018

Talley Vineyards is having a big celebration of Chardonnay, and I've got FOUR CHARDONNAYS made by them here to taste. So today I'm reviewing two of them, and in a few days I'll review the other two. Three of them are single vineyard Chards ranging from $50 to $60, and one of them is an Estate Chard for $34. I should have done a little research before I took pictures and opened the wine for today's review, so I could start with the $34 one, but it's too late for that now. Oh well! C'est la vie!

Rosemary's Vineyard surrounds Rosemary Talley's home in the Arroyo Grande Valley. It's the coolest of the Talley vineyards and has chalky shale soil that produces Chardonnay with refreshing acidity. That acidity is pretty prominent on the 2018 vintage, but I also got a lot of chalky minerality and salinity all over this wine. On the palate it's a lot lighter and crisper than I was expecting. There's aromas and flavors of green apple, white peach, lemon, nuts, and ice melt. It's super delicious, and even though I peronally like the next wine more mono e mono, this one is clearly the more of a versatile food wine.

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $60

Rating: 4/5 = Recommended (what does that mean?)

PICTURED: A BIG DORK

This is the one that I was the most excited about and, honestly, it's because of the name. My dog's name is Oliver (we call him Ollie) and he's named after DC Comics' Green Arrow, AKA Oliver Queen (because we're a bunch of nerds here). So I got excited seeing a wine with my buddy's name on it. He's a good boy. An enormous goofy blockhead, but still a good boy.

Oliver's Vineyard is located in Edna Valley, and no it's not named after Green Arrow. It's named after Oliver Talley; the founder of Talley Vineyards. The 2018 Oliver's Chardonnay has a bigger body than Rosemary's, although I still wouldn't call it full bodied on the Chardonnay scale, but is also more buttery and oaky, while I wouldn't say it's super buttery or oaky. It's all about the tropical fruits like pineapple, banana, and mango. And of course, vanilla and caramel. It's not like you're sucking on a Werther's or like you're going to get splinters on your tongue, but it's just enough of that kind of profile without going all-in and making the ABC people run away screaming in absolute horror. Dude, this is the kind of Cali Chardonnay that sends dopamine straight to my brain. Oak and butter while still being elegant and not over extracted. Perfection for $50.

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $50

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

Both bottles used were supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.