*** I received this wine as a sample. ***

Most of last Thursday was an average day.  I worked on a long-term project for my Big Boss that is taking a little longer than I expected, but I made progress.  Then in the late afternoon I checked several of my work blogs to see that things in my little world had just exploded.  So, I fired off some emails to my colleagues, alerted my Immediate Boss, and put aside the long-term project to begin working on a response to the unfolding events.  All in all, it wasn’t very stressful.  It was just frustrating to finally be making good progress on my project only to have to put it aside once again. When I arrived home, Hubby had dinner waiting for me, and I opened up a bottle of white wine.

The 2009 Buried Cane Chardonnay (winery) is a no-oak Chardonnay from the Horse Heaven Hills AVA in Washington State.  It is made with 100% Chardonnay grapes and had a light-to-medium straw yellow color.  On the nose, there were limes, granny smith apples, and pears.  In the mouth, there were limes, granny smith apples, pears, and a hint of lemon custard.  The wine had a light-to-medium body and a bright acidity that wasn’t too overpowering.

Is this worth a glass after work? It’s worth more than one!  What are you waiting for?  At an SRP of $14, this wine has a great quality/price ratio.   It’s wonderful on its own and is incredibly food friendly.  Hubby made a baked tilapia seasoned with an “island seasoning” that he bought during our trip to Jamaica and a spinach salad for dinner that was a great pairing.

What I found particularly nice about the Buried Cane, though, is how well it held up over several days.  I wasn’t able to go back to the wine until Sunday evening, and I admit that three days of leaving it in the refrigerator, I was a concerned about how fresh it would taste.  While it was not quite as fresh tasting as it was when I opened the bottle, it was still better than most wines.  So, I decided to wait another couple of days before trying the last of the wine, just as an experiment.   When I opened the wine on Tuesday night, 5 days after I initially opened the bottle, the wine was still drinkable.  Obviously, it wasn’t nearly as good as it was the first night, and it was definitely better with food, but clearly it is a wine that is great for those of us who really are only looking to drink one glass of wine a night.

Overall, my tweet and Instagram comment on this wine summed up the experience perfectly “Enjoying the best #Chardonnay I’ve had in a long time—2009 no oak Buried Cane. Kudos Middleton Family Wines!”

Suggested Retail Price: $14
Received as a sample.
Overall: 4.5 Corks