This week’s final California Chardonnay – a 2008 Sebastiani Unoaked Chardonnay – hails from the Russian River Valley AVA in Sonoma County. Nestled along the Russian River between Sebastopol and Santa Rosa in the south and Forestville and Healdsburg in the north, Russian River is a cool climate AVA that gets lots of fog from the Pacific Ocean and, as a result, is awonderful place to grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The Sebastiani winery is one of the oldest in the area, started by an Italian immigrant in the very early part of the 20th century. According to the Sebastiani website, it was the only winery to continue operations through the Prohibition era, making sacramental and medicinal wines. So, with such a history, then, how is the wine?
Like the Foxglove Chardonnay, the 2008 Sebastiani Unoaked Chardonnay is, as its label indicates, fermented entirely in stainless steel (in other words, without any use of oak). Some say that this method of fermentation allows the grape’s “true” characteristics to come through. Not that the use of oak is necessarily a bad thing, of course. Many a winemaker makes judicious use of oak, and it can lend excellent structure and balance to wine that might otherwise be uninspired.
Uninspired the Sebastiani Unoaked Chardonnay is not. Light gold in color with a big green apple and limestone aroma, this wine is remarkably rich and deep for being unoaked. Indeed, at first sip I had to check to see if I had poured myself the correct wine. (I did.) There’s some banana on the palate, which I think will turn J off a bit, but the crisp apple, white peach and minerality is what follows through to the end.
In short, if you like buttery Chardonnay but want to venture into the realm of the unoaked, give this one a try. I tasted it this evening with a delicious Farfalle, Heirloom Tomato* and Basil pasta (photo below), and the crispness of the wine paired wonderfully with the white balsamic vinaigrette in which I tossed the pasta. Yum…
You can find the 2008 Sebastiani Russian River Valley Unoaked Chardonnay at wine.com for $18.99/bottle.
3.5 corks popped!
Cheers!
* The heirloom tomatoes in this dish came courtesy of my good friend, LM. If you don’t have your own personal heirloom tomato supplier, get yourself down to your local farmers’ market and see what they’re selling!
