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Winery Reviews

Food and Wine Pairing starts with great wine. Check out the wineries we've visited and how this can add to the food and wine pairing fun!

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Chateau St Jean

Sunday, July 20th, 2008
We had a great tasting at Chateau St Jean, so good in fact that we didn’t feel the need to do our second tasting of the day. Most of the time tastings include no more than 5 or 6 wines, and leave you thirsty for more. Not so at Chateau St Jean. We tasted 12 wines!

Located in the more relaxed Sonoma County, Chateau St Jean is a beautiful winery. If you drop in you can get two types of tastings – basic ($10 per person) and reserve ($15 per person). We have dropped in before and gone to the reserve side. Be warned though, Chateau St Jean is a popular winery and it does get very busy.

This time we called ahead and reserved a private tasting on the patio overlooking vineyards. The number of tables are limited, but worth making the effort and calling ahead. There is no charge for the tables outside but they are on a first come, first served basis, and for club members only on Saturday and Sundays.

Starting with the whites we tasted two Fume’ Blanc’s, a Viognier, two Chardonnay’s and a Pinot Blanc.

We preferred the La Petite Etoile 2006 over the Lyon Vineyard 2006 Fume’ Blanc for it’s less oaky flavor and it’s hints of melon. This Fume’ Blanc is 87% Sauvignon Blanc and 13% Semillion. Mostly tank fermented (80%) and blended with 20% oak fermented.

The Viognier is an interesting wine getting more and more recognized in the more common wine world. For those that haven’t tried it, Viognier doesn’t smell like it tastes. It has a sweet and fragrant nose consisting of peach and nectarine. The taste is not as fruity as the nose suggests; it’s crisp and dry, without the essence of the fruit. This wine is usually blended with the ever popular Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

The two Chardonnay’s we tried where the 2006 Robert Young Vineyard Reserve and the 2007 Sonoma County Reserve. We enjoyed the Sonoma County Reserve better and came home with a few bottles to enjoy later.

The Pinot Blanc is an interesting and fun wine from the Alexander Valley. Peach and melon are what your nose experiences with this wine and you are not disappointed.

The reds included two Pinot Noirs, two Merlots and two Cabernet Sauvignon’s. The Pinot Noir’s tend to be more earthy than what I prefer and these were true to form. Not a sipping wine, the Pinot Noir needs to be paired with the right food in order to be enjoyed.

The Merlot’s didn’t disappoint. We tried the Sonoma County 2005 and the Sonoma County Reserve 2003. The reserve was wonderful. This is a blend of 3 separately aged varietals; 94% Merlot, 4% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. Once blended, the new combination was aged in 100% French Oak for a year and then in the bottle for another year. I got burnt out during my “Merlot only” stage and this wine made me think of all the other Merlot’s I’ve been missing out on. A great wine for steak or a beef stew

The Cabernet Sauvignon also didn’t disappoint. We tasted the 2004 Cinq Cepages and the 2003 Sonoma County Reserve. The Cinq Cepages came in one of our Club shipments and we enjoyed this great meritage. The Reserve is a great wine to put down for a few years, and a little on the pricey side so save it for a special occasion..

A great gift shop and small deli, I recommend you plan on spending a considerable amount of time and money at this great winery. Winery Website