Toad Hollow Unoaked Chardonnay - Tasty! • Reverse Wine Snob

Unassuming, unoaked and delicious, the Toad Hollow Unoaked Francine's Selection Chardonnay.

100% Chardonnay from long-time family-owned vineyards along the Russian River in Mendocino County plus a small amount from Monterey County, California. The wine was aged in stainless steel for 5 months and has 2.7 g/L of residual sugar.

Sample submitted for review. The Toad Hollow Chardonnay has an SRP of $15 but is available for as low as $10.

From the bottle:

Clean, crisp and full flavored with hints of mango and melon and a rich, creamy mouthfeel.

Pair with herbed chicken, braised pork, grilled shellfish and sushi. Great with goat cheese and gouda. A treat for the senses!

Seriously crafted from three Mendocino County vineyards that produce fresh, bright flavors in Chardonnay.

Whole cluster picked and pressed, racked and chilled to 52F. Slow fermentation process to retain fruity characteristics, then aged on the yeast lees until bottling. Absolutely no oak!

Vinted and Bottled by Toad Hollow Vineyards
13.9% Alcohol

As we noted in our Ask The Expert series (see: Where Does The Buttery Flavor in Chardonnay Come From), that buttery taste so associated with Chardonnay doesn't come from oak barrels as so many believe. It actually comes from stopping a secondary fermentation called malolactic fermentation early. The use of oak barrels is very popular with this style of Chardonnay, thus the association of butter and oak.

Today's wine is an interesting one because while it is fermented in stainless steel, most of the wine did undergo malolactic fermentation. It must have been allowed to run its course; however, as there's just a hint of butter left.

The 2021 Toad Hollow Francine's Selection Unoaked Chardonnay begins with a pleasing and varied aroma of lemon cream, apple and citrus along with a little honeysuckle, fresh baked bread and hints of spice.

The medium-bodied wine tastes of all the same flavors plus a good dollop of melon and a little mango and grapefruit. It also has a wonderful smooth and creamy mouthfeel with really no butter flavors at all.

It ends with tropical fruit touches on the long-lasting finish.