Gård Chardonnay Duo

Tasting notes & discussion 12

92-96 POINTS
Typically $42-$60/bottle from Gard Vintners
Vintage 2021 and 2022 from Royal Slope, Washington
Available for AL; AZ; CA; CO; DC; FL; GA; ID; IL; IA; KS; KY; MD; MA; MI; MN; MO; MT; NV; NH; NM; NY; NC; ND; OH; OK; OR; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WA; WI
Sold by participating winery or licensee, fulfilled by Wine Country Connect

About Gard Vintners: “Gård, meaning “farm” in many of the Scandinavian languages, is a tribute to our family’s Scandinavian heritage and farming tradition. Our mission at Gård is to capture and bottle the unique characteristics of the land we farm.”

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TASTING NOTES:

Gård Winemaker’s Select Chardonnay - “Flambéed pineapple, wet stones, custard apple, honeycomb, butterscotch, and white flowers. Swirling brings ripe stone fruits, citrus rind, roasted marshmallows, nutmeg, and oak spice. The mouthfeel is broad, with remarkable structure and a phenomenal acid presentation. Ripe stone fruits dominate the mid-palate, but there are lots of citrus and spice components that remain towards the end of the wine. Extremely complex and layered and with a balanced oak profile, this beautiful Chardonnay finishes long, with the perfect amount of sweetness and lingering acidity. Enjoy now or in the next 20 years. Decanting is recommended.” (AbV 14.6%)

Gård Grand Klasse Chardonnay - “96 pts - Jeremy Young, Int’l Wine Report” (AbV 13.8%)

VARIETALS: 100% Chardonnay

BARRELS: New French oak.

PAIRS WITH: N/A

THAT REMINDS ME OF: Flambéed pineapple.

Flambé just means “flamed” in French, and it’s one of those cooking moves that gets dismissed as pure tableside theater when it’s actually doing real work — the fire burns off the raw edge of whatever spirit you just poured on, and caramelizes the sugars in whatever’s underneath. Rum on pineapple, brandy on cherries, whatever’s handy and won’t ruin the tablecloth.

The dessert flambé story I actually think about is Bananas Foster, not pineapple, but it’s too good to skip. Invented in 1951 at Brennan’s in New Orleans, supposedly by chef Paul Blangé, and named after Richard Foster — a regular at the restaurant who happened to be the chairman of the New Orleans Crime Commission. So somewhere out there is a guy whose entire claim to culinary immortality is that he was friends with the right restaurant owner at the right moment, and now his name is permanently attached to a banana on fire. No idea if pineapple has an equivalent origin myth with an equally random civic official involved. If it does, I want to hear it.

Who's buying this?

How are you buying your bottles?

If a dessert had to be set on fire tableside to earn your respect, which one are we lighting up?

Bananas Foster, obviously — the original and still the best

Bananas Foster, obviously — the original and still the best
Pineapple, flambéed, no contest

Pineapple, flambéed, no contest
Cherries Jubilee, I'm a classicist

Cherries Jubilee, I'm a classicist
Honestly none of them, I just want the dessert not the show

Honestly none of them, I just want the dessert not the show
Comments — tell me what you'd set on fire

Comments — tell me what you'd set on fire

32 votes