Pretty much blown away by this wine, a speculative buy on B-Day from a producer with whom I was totally unfamiliar. The QPR meter melted on this one. Very happy to have more.
2015 Terrien Wines Chardonnay- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (2/13/2020)
First experience with this producer. Purchased on Berserker Day.
This wine makes a singular first impression and exceeds expectations, especially if that expectation is predicated on archetypal Sonoma Chardonnay.
Pale golden color. Immediately gets one’s attention with bracing Granny Smith apple, mirin, and pear aromas. A righteous acid spine supports apple, lime, and baking spice. On its own, this seems almost severe, but makes a magnificent partner with food (Indian in this case). At 4 years of age, it has plenty of miles ahead of it. Drink or hold with confidence.
Also bought on BDay. Very good Sonoma Chardonnay. They have the most interesting pricing structure. You can offer below the given price on site. If you pay above the average price for that vintage after it’s gone, you get that as credit towards your next purchase. The wine is easily worth the starting price On the site of $25.
I think I paid about $18 on BD and then got a refund credit.
I spent quite a bit of time with him on the pricing strategy for BD11 because while it was wildly creative I didn’t want it to blow up his offer. My philosophy is keep it simple but that doesn’t mean someone can’t build a better mousetrap.
After some noodling we came up with, what I thought was, a very good balance that worked for everyone.
Don’t know whether Terrien has any Pinot Noir currently available, but I was impressed by their first Pinot bottling from 2014, from Marin County (tasted at a Marin wine event in mid-2016):
Michael Terrien’s small label is focused mainly on Chardonnay. Their inaugural Pinot Noir release is a bottling sourced from Chileno Valley (Corda) Vineyard. Mark Pasternak, who farms the vineyard, poured the single Terrien wine at the tasting – 2014 Marin County Pinot Noir. Fermented with whole clusters and partial carbonic maceration, the wine was aged for one year in one-year old French oak. Showing its herbal and slightly stemmy whole-cluster character upfront, this also displayed bright red fruit and spice on the nose, with medium-light weight on the palate, good structure, and a stony mineral note on the finish. Perhaps a bit young right now but shows potential for cellaring.
Had the first of the six I bought, the other night. What a surprise! We were thinking it would probably be a flabby oak flavored wine with little structure. Instead it was the complete opposite. It was crisp with an almost chablis like finish that complimented the saute’ of turbot we had with it.
This is a wonderful wine. If you can, put a bottle or two away for another 5+ years. A few months back I tried a Terrien Chardonnay at 10+ years, and it was fantastic.
Michael sent the same kind of offer probably all of us for Bêcheur Chardonnay. I took six because you can’t lose on them. Michael said he would have his PN up soon. I first met Michael when he was making wine for Hanzell. I have trusted him as a winemaker ever since.
So, I got an email today that the Chard had dropped to my price point, and there was a link that expires tomorrow (which, of course, is the day I am moving). Went to the website, and it is charging me $48/per. Put in the BD code and bumpkis.
What a beautiful TN, Nate! I first tried one of Michael’s wines some years ago at a restaurant in Maine (near Bar Harbor) that had his 2007 Chardonnay. Since then I’ve had the '08, '09, and '15 (which is from a different vineyard than the others), as well as the Bêcheur Chard and Pinot Noir. These vary from great to fabulous (TNs for all of them are on CT and my impression of the '15 is close to yours). The lesson is clear, if Michael makes it you can’t go wrong! I await his Cabernet Sauvignon, which will arrive with cooler weather (I’m on the east coast).
Decided to check in on this one again.
Bottom line, this is still going strong, showing even a bit better than when I first tried it a couple years ago.
Color is a somewhat pale yellow.
Pear and lemon peel leap out of the glass along with a nice biscuit undertone. Rather precise citrus and Granny Smith flavor notes, with a knife-edge acidity that gets your attention, but isn’t out of place at all.
This is a marvelously balanced package that will likely hold for a long time. Based on my original tasting note and my recollections, it hasn’t aged noticeably, maybe a very slight softening of the acidity. Drink or hold, you won’t be disappointed.