Review: 2015 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Chardonnay Aged in Bourbon Barrels
Now that red wine aged in ex bourbon barrels is a real thing, it’s natural that it would extend to something new: white wine.
Robert Mondavi Private Selection Chardonnay is sourced from Monterey County, then aged in standard oak barrels for nine months. A portion of this is then further aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels, instead of new or neutral oak, for two months, then blended back with the regularly-aged wine before bottling.
The results here are more successful than with Mondavi’s prior bourbon-aged cabernet. The vanilla and caramel of bourbon are a more natural fit with buttery chardonnay than cabernet. Fans of big butter and bigger oak on their wine will find nothing to complain about here, the heavy vanilla character giving this a real dessert-like character. I’m glad Mondavi took the foot off the gas after two months; too much more and this wine would have been blasted out of the water with those hefty whiskey notes. On the flipside, fans of more acidic wines will want to avoid this one.
On the whole, the bourbon effect is rich and present — clearly noticeable from start to finish — but it still lets a bit of the underlying fruit, here showing as green apple and some tropical pineapple, shine through. There’s nothing fancy at work, to be sure, but it works well enough for a $11 wine.
B / $11 / robertmondaviprivateselection.com
2015 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Chardonnay Aged in Bourbon Barrels
$11
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If you don’t enjoy bourbon, I’d avoid this.