Wine Enthusiast: Rated as Excellent, extremely well made and highly recommended. "The winery’s reserve Chard has consistently been the best among their five Chards. The ’05 is a dramatic wine, although oak-o-phobes might find it toothpicky. It is smoky and buttery and caramelly, but a year or so should knit that together with the ripe tropical fruits and make the wine seamlessly complex." Dec 2008

Winery:  "To craft our Reserve Chardonnay, we harvest fruit from such outstanding Sonoma County vineyards as Robert Young, Belle Terre and Durell.  Each vineyard lot remains separate as it is fermented in small French oak barrels and aged sur-lie for seventeen months.  We select individual barrels of the best lots for the final blend.  Our 2005 vintage yields bright aromas and flavors of lemon and creme brulee with a velvety texture and rich finish."

Wired For Wine:  The bright flavors of this Chateau St. Jean Reserve Sonoma County Chardonnay will cause your taste buds to sit up straight and pay very close attention, winelovers.  And when you do, you will be mesmerized by the gorgeous smoke, oak and fruit of this California Chardonnay.  Isn't learning fun??  Open your first chilled bottle and delight in the beautiful balance of lemon, honey and butterscotch; it will stand alone very nicely as an aperitif.  If you're in the mood for a little something to eat, browned slices of Asian shrimp sausage flavored with red curry paste and coconut. It will bring the smoke and oak alive in this Reserve Chard.  Moving right along, the intoxicatingly good flavors of this wine will pair well with many different choices from chicken to seafood and shellfish, as well as most vegetables and countless herbs.  A terrific first course would be a warm goat cheese and pear salad.  The velvet texture of this Chateau St. Jean is perfect with the creaminess of the goat cheese.  For the entree, we love this California white with spicy chicken in butter lettuce wraps.  Grilled salmon with fennel and dried tomato butter will appeal to the more savory flavors in this Chardonnay, while a great pasta alternative is a big bowl of linguine with shrimp, spinach and lemon-garlic.  Have at it winelovers, school is in session!

Size:  750ml
Varietal:   100% Chardonnay
Alcohol:  14.4%
Ageing:   17 months in small French oak barrels
Region:   Sonoma County, California