2009 Stargroves Paso Robles Chardonnay

The 2009 Stargroves Paso Robles Chardonnay is 93.2% Chardonnay, 6.6% Sauvignon Blanc and 0.2% Pinot Blanc (a mutation of Pinot Noir), I got that information from a wine sellers website from Taiwan. Stargroves seems to be a label produced by Vintage Wine Estates (Cosentino, Grove Street, Girard Wines, among others) made for the Asian market. Somehow, Trader Joe’s got a hold of some and for $5.99 you can find out what kind of Chardonnay sells in China and South Korea. By the way, the price tag is $450 Taiwan dollars which converts to $14.75 US. The alcohol content is 14%.

The color is very pale butter yellow. There are lots of fresh tropical fruit on the nose, with a nice floral background. It starts off with canned cling peaches and mango, there is a little touch of butter and some tart crisp apple. The acidity stands out, maybe a bit too much, but if you are drinking the wine with spicy Asian food, the acidity will cleanse the palate. The mid-palate brings in some light toasty bakery bread and a little lime. The finish is not very distinct, but it does last awhile.

Well, it looks like the Asians like their Chardonnay lightly oaked  and fruit forward, just like the majority of Americans do, I guess it is a small world. At six bucks, it is solid Chardonnay, more of a food wine than an after dinner sipper. If you have a nice spicy recipe you want to try, and could use a tasty, inexpensive Chardonnay to cool things off, then the Stargroves is worth a look.

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Don’t tell anyone, but there is absolutely no correlation between the cost of wine and the quality of wine.

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