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Wine is as good as life to a man, if it be drunk moderately: what life is then to a man that is without wine? for it was made to make men glad.
—Ecclesiasticus, ch. 38, v. 1
(Our sample bottle was purchased by us at standard retail.)
Bogle, in the Clarksburg region of California, has long been known as a producer of solid "value wines", a term meaning inexpensive but decently made wines with no great pretensions but delivering reasonable drinkability (their Petite Sirah is especially well known).
Their Chard is fermented 50% in new American oak, and fermentation takes place on the lees; after that, the wine spends nine months in oak. The alcohol level is 13½%, big but not monster.
Bogle Chardonnay is hugely available everywhere, at prices that run from as low as $6 on up to as much as $17 (but the higher prices are outliers: the average, per Wine Searcher Pro, is about $9).
Our sampling of the Bogle Chardonnay was yet another round in our sempiternal quest to see if there is a better-than-acceptable "Cali-style" (oaked & malolactic) "value" Chard. We have been riding this carousel for many years, and will doubtless be doing so forever.
This Bogle Chardonnay is clearly the first runner-up to our current favorite "value" Chard. The Bogle has the characteristics of a California Chard down quite well: the apple-pear fruitiness, the malolactic-fermentation milkiness, the oakiness—in short, the whole package, nicely executed and thoroughly pleasing.
One thing in which it stands out from the crowd of would-be bargian chards: it avoids the cloying excess of nearly sweet quality that spoil so many others. Mind, it does not avoid it perfectly, there being a lingering sense that it is somehow about to burst into off-dry mode, but the restraint is sufficient.
This is not a Montrachet, nor, in fairness, does it aspire to be. Our slight continuing preference for one other could be personal taste, and we certainly wouldn't mind being served this Bogle Chardonnay any time, anywhere. For a "value" Chardonnay, highly recommended.
On CellarTracker.
On Wine Searcher's Tasting Notes page.
Of some major wine-review sites:
(2010 vintage), 89 points:
Deceptively complex, tight and vibrant, with a slow rise of citrus-laced mineral, green pear and honeydew melon notes that build on the finish, where a touch of nutmeg adds dimension.
(2009 vintage), 88 points:
An amazing wine, especially at this price. Fresh, intense and vibrant, with sweat pea, green apple, melon and honeysuckle notes that are full-bodied, ending with a clean, crisp finish. The best of three bottles tasted.
(2007 vintage), 87 points:
Intense and vibrant in a full-bodied style, with lively pear, citrus, green apple and melon flavors. Ends with a pithy grapefruit peel edge that's complex.
(2008 vintage), 87 points
(2005 vintage), 85 points
(2004 vintage), 85 points
(2002 vintage), 85 points
(2001 vintage), 86 points
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This page was last modified on Tuesday, 22 December 2020, at 8:44 pm Pacific Time.