A Gluggable Little Chardonnay from Stowells

Advantages: Reasonably priced and easy on the palate
Disadvantages: The bottle is empty far too quickly

...I'm no great wine expert, although for the amount I consume I should be!!!! I don't really have a preference over red and white it depends when and where I'm drinking it and with what. On these pleasant summer evenings I am very partial to a nice glass of cold chardonnay. As I say I'm no expert but I have found that if the wine is from Stowells it is usually a decent one - and so it should be as Frederick Stanley Stowells opened his first wine store in Ealing, London in 1878. I take my position as reviewer of this wine very seriously - so in front of me,direct from the fridge, is a bottle of Stowell's Chardonnay Colombard.The bottle cost me £3.99 from Sainsburys, and I think that it was on offer and should have been around £6.00 Let me describe it to you - the clear bottle - ice cold to the touch - has...

oldchem 01.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Stowells Chardonnay

Chilean Chardonnay. Vile.

Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Vile taste

...Chilean Chardonnay was described by my wife as: "The worst wine I ever tasted." I am sorry to say that I have to agree with her judgement on Chilean Chardonnay. To me, it looked reasonable. Nice, clear white colour, it looked good in the glass and it chilled well in the fridge. Though my wife thought it looked "a little heavy" and wondered at the 14.5% alcohol content. The smell, however, was perhaps something of a warning of something unpleasant that was about to come. "Something wicked this way comes" springs to mind. Apparently the wine is made from Chardonnay grapes, the same strain of white grapes that makes the excellent white wines from the Chardonnay region of France. And which are also employed with very good effect, it has to be said, to produce the highly drinkable Chardonnay-style white wines of Australia...

Martinscholes 09.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of Chilean Chardonnay

Crisp, cool Chardonnay

Advantages: Well priced, good for lovers of a crisp style of Chardonnay
Disadvantages: None springs to mind

...Want a crisp, refreshing yet characterful white wine at a reasonable price ? Then look no further than this Argentinian star, Argento Chardonnay. If you want a more flavourful alternative to a Pinot Grigio then you should come away smiling after a glass or two of this. I picked up a bottle of this vintage 2006 Chardonnay from Tesco at their great wine festival price of £3.99 (full price of £5.99 after 22nd April, 2008) but I think the Argento brand is quite widely available. I certainly do remember picking this up at my local Co-op a couple of years ago as well when a white was called for ! Like its red sister, the Argento Malbec, the grapes for this Chardonnay come from high altitude vineyards in the Andes foothills of Mendoza province which is great area for elegant and pocket pleasing wines. The wine came in a clear bottle which...

zallin 11.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Argento Chardonnay

the big chill...Colombard Chardonnay.

Advantages: It tastes of Lemons and it's refreshing!
Disadvantages: It tastes of Lemons and it's extremely sharp!

...I have tried drinking this wine cold, extremely cold and at room temperature. Oh, I've really tried with this wine. I've been through three bottles up to now...on three separate occasions I may add. (I'm not a wino!) I really wanted it to be good but tasting it is more of a trial than an experience. Simple facts : ****************** It's a clear 75cl bottle It's a White Wine It's from California and it's a blend of Chardonnay and Columbard It was bottled in 2004 It's 12.5 % alcohol by volume It's Lemony It's Very sharp. Front Label: ***************** Light Blue with "the big chill" in large white lower case letters. Rear Label: ***************** There's loads of information on the label. It really is a good read. However, the main fact shouts out from it at you. It's suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans! Good news...

JohnGroom 02.01.2006 · Read review
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Review of California Columbard Chardonnay

This Chardonnay is not a footballers wife !

Advantages: Good quality for the price.
Disadvantages: Only four glasses in a bottle.

...Just for a change I'm drinking and Ciaoing at the same time. What am I drinking you may ask ? Well the clue is in the title, but it's not any old Chardonnay, oh no, it's Ernest & Julio Gallo's Chardonnay. So as I'm drinking it I thought why not do a review as well, you see, we men can do two things at once. WHITE WINE Wine making dates back to Egyptian times around 6,000 years ago in 4000 BC. Wine has been a central part of most civilizations from the Romans through to the present day. The only time wine making has been under any threat was in the late 19th century when the phylloxera virus ( a disease which attacks vine roots ) almost wiped out all Europe's vines. The industry overcame this hurdle and as we all know continues to thrive. White wines are made from white grapes and come in many different varieties, styles...

scampi1 16.02.2004 · Read review
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Review of Ernest and Julio Gallo Chardonnay

Are there any Chardonnay lovers out there ?

Advantages: Well balanced, sumptuous flavours, wide availability, great when on offer
Disadvantages: Wish full price was lower

...Argentinian wines are beginning to make a real impression in the UK and like Chile who pioneered South American wine here, are able to provide genuinely flavoursome value for money. Argentina is predominantly famed for their spicy flagship wines made from the black Malbec grape but in terms of white wine they're doing some good stuff with that now less fashionable star of the white wine world, Chardonnay. So I guess if you're an ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) it may not be worth reading any further. I picked up the Tesco Finest Guentota Estate Chardonnay during Tesco's recent wine festival at a very pleasing £3.99. Full price was a dubious £7.99. I really wonder if any of the Tesco Finest range that get cut to half price on offer are really worth their full price. I simply think the full price just gets inflated to make the offer...

zallin 10.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of Tesco Finest Guentota Estate Chardonnay

For the discerning Chardonnay drinker

Advantages: Top end of the market, very tasty and good quality
Disadvantages: Price a little high

...I am sad to say that, working in the hospitality trade as I do, I cannot help but notice that the majority of people are largely ignorant when it comes to purchasing wine. In the world of wine, it is so true that you get what you pay for. However the fact of the matter is that the majority of the people are really not that discerning when it comes to choosing wine, and thus 'cheaper is better' is the tragic maxim that most adhere to. This is a great shame in my opinion given the choice that is on offer these days, especially since the emergence of the New World as a real competitive force in the wine making market. The Lindemans Bin 65 is another excellent New World offering which is a Chardonnay far superior to that kind of run-of-the-mill Australian Chardonnay such as a Hardy's. The taste of this particular Chardonnay is very...

BIGHORSE 30.10.2001 · Read review
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Review of Lindemans Bin 65 Chardonnay

Review of Villa Maria Chardonnay

Advantages: Excellent value. Retails at around $10.00
Disadvantages: None. Well made product

...Villa Maria Chardonnay is a very well made New Zealand chardonnay. It matches well with many foods including chicken, swordfish, and red snapper. It has a lovely bouquet of lemon and honey with light traces of oak barrel ageing. It is full bodied and velvety in texture and the finish is very lasting. It has less tropical fruit aspects and less oak than chardonnay from California. At it's current retail price of less than $15.00 per bottle I feel that it represents real value to the consumer. This is a well-structured wine that is compatible with many foods including goat cheese.I have enjoyed the Villa Maria Chardonnay on many occasions as well as their Sauvignon Blanc. The wine shows a consistency in style in each vintage and is very dependable. Consumers could pay more for chardonnays from France and California, but Villa Maria...

cgjazaz 26.02.2003 · Read review
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Review of Villa Maria Chardonnay, Marlborough

I'll raise a glass to it!!

Advantages: A goodpriced easily ( too easily) drinkable wine
Disadvantages: IT'S ALL GONE!!

...I don't professto be Ozzie Clarke I just enjoy a nice glass of wine, and reall that is just what this Stowells of Chelsea Chardonnay Colombard is. Frederick Stanley Stowells opened his first wine store in Ealing, London in 187, so I expect that it is no surprise that this wine is good. The bottle I have was from Morrisons and cost me £3.79 but was on half price - so a very good price for a rather good little wine. The wine is from South East Australia and made with a mixture chardonnay and colombard grapes, and comes in a screw top bottle. It is amazing how many wines nowadys dio have a screw top - I for one have no objection to them either. According to the label on the reverse of the bottle the strength code is 2 - and as the wines are graded from 1 ( very dry) to 9 (very sweet) this sounds as if it will be perfect...

baherbc 21.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Stowells Chardonnay

Drink Chardonny to help save the environment !!

Advantages: smooth, crisp and subtle
Disadvantages: you may want to buy 2 bottles

...After experiencing and reviewing a Screw-top red wine (Saturday Red Winemaker's Choice) I was very pleased to recieve comments from others about how good some screw tops are. So decided to try this fairly new to the market White Chardonnay. Packaging Mellowood Chardonnay is a California wine that is presented in a stanard 75cl clear bottle at 13% vol. Thus allowing the drinker (an over- tired me at the end of a very long day) to see the clear, pale colour that told me it would be a rather dry wine. The clear bottle displays a bold green front label with matching neck label. The front one having a picture of a large tree protruding up from an orchard of smaller trees ( am guessing they are probably fruit trees, thought grape vines would be more relevent, but then who am I to argue with the advertising companies?) Any way...

pixie65 15.05.2008 · Read review
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Review of Mellowood Chardonnay