Dinner for the shabbos of June 25th, 2010 was meant to be a quick and simple dinner that had minimal leftovers as we were leaving for Australia early the following week.  As usual when we need a quick dinner and little fuss, we went with the usual Lemon/Red Pepper Flakes Roasted Chicken.  We also went with plain brown rice, a fresh green salad, and were good to go.

To match I went to an old standby – 2004 Four Gates Chardonnay.  I have had two different outcomes with this wine, in the past, one which was oaky and fruity, and one which was toasty and oaky.  Well this time, the bottle was toasty and oaky, which was so good, that it reminded me of the 2007 Castel ‘C’ Chardonnay – super oaky, toasty, and fruity.  The wine was awesome, and I want to let the rest of my bottles lie and see how they turn out.

The wine note follows below:

2004 Four Gates Chardonnay – Score: A-
The nose on this electric light gold to gold colored wine is filled with heavy and luscious toasted oak, a whiff of burnt oak, lemon, melon, peach, toasted almond, spice, Crème brûlée, and butterscotch.  The mouth on this full bodied wine is spicy with Crème brûlée, layers of concentrated toasty oak, along with butterscotch, melon, and a hint of almonds.  The mid palate is packed with more oak, lemon, and bright acidity.  The finish is long and spicy, with tasty oak, butterscotch, and lemon.  The oak calms down a bit with time, but the flavors are still there with tight concentration and brightness.