Muirwood Chardonnay

Here I am, Mr. "Insensitive Palate" trying, of all things, a new Chardonnay.  Well, I am determined to learn about wine.  Wine truly intrigues me.  It symbolizes culture and civilization as beer represents agrarian ruggedness.  Both... mind you... are best enjoyed in moderation.  Fermentation amazes... It's a natural mystery that converts something mundane; average; normal into something intricate, complex... divine.  Yet, being "intrigued," I've never really concentrated and observed what I was sensing as I drank.

Well, here it goes... my first.. focused... savoring of a wine...

First I stuck my nose in the glass like you see them do in the movies and took a deep sniff.  It did not have a strong scent.  It was slight, I guess the wine term might be "gentle" or "delicate."  It smelled a little like oak.  So, what would that be... "a hint of the cask?"  Then, I took a a rather full sip and focused on the flavor.  The first thing I noticed was a taste of "oakiness"  or a pleasant "woodyness."  Then, I took another, fuller mouthful.  I let it rest, drowning my taste buds for a moment and fixated all my observational skill upon it.

Now... the back label of this wine said that it has "generous tropical and citrus fruit flavors."  I've drunk a LOT of wine and never tasted lemons, oranges or even grapes... However, the flavor I noticed as I slowly sloshed the wine around wasn't quite that of fruit, but it did have what I might call the essence of citrus.  It was the gustatory equivalent of looking at a cubist or abstract painting...  The Weeping Woman, for example,  is... I hope... a poor likeness of the model, but you could point to it and say "that is pain" in the same way that you could point to a wall and say "that is blue," and in that way, you can point at the sensation of the wine resting in your palate and say "that is citrus."

Please understand, that I did not think of The Weeping Woman when I tasted the wine, it was merely the first abstract painting that came to mind as I wrote...

After I finished, I breathed deep from the empty glass and filled my senses with the fragrance left by the wine.  Though the scent was not truly that of a forest, it triggered thoughts of the wilderness or the woods in Autumn.

For just under $10 a bottle, this is a thoroughly enjoyable Chard.