Coppola Director's Cut 2005 Chardonnay

I attended an event last week at which I tried some interesting American wines, so I plan to post some "reviews" over the next month. The first of these will be for Francis Ford Coppola's Director's Cut 2005 Russian River Chardonnay. This bottle retails for between $17-20.

Celebrity wines don't sit very well with me on principle. I prefer to see hard working farmer-types build reputation, and (dare I say) fame, through their knowledge of terroir, a deft hand with yeasts, excellent vine and water management and, let's face it, a little bit of luck. Such is the American dream. Much to my chagrin, Francis Ford Coppola's wines are generally well reviewed, and when I had the chance to try the Director's Cut 2005 Russian River Valley Chardonnay, I was pleasantly surprised.

As wine is all about the sensory experience, I'll start with the package. I love the label--a long strip of paper wound 'round the bottle with images vaguely reminiscent of Renaissance France by way of 1930s cinema. The color of the wine is medium straw, the initial nose sweet with a touch of green apple. I'm admittedly not much of a Chardonnay enthusiast--especially of the oaked variety--but this was well integrated. Contrary to other reviews I read of the wine, I didn't find a lot of fruit on the palate--mostly green herbaceousness, some floral on the nose (perhaps honeysuckle) with a fairly strong note of bread. The finish was long enough, with nicely balanced acidity. I think this is a good wine for food--seafood in a light cream sauce, baked herb chicken with wild rice or mushroom pastry.