Memories with every sip...

2011 Karia Chardonnay

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

Napa Valley

I first had this wine two years ago and it will always be special to me. When I came down with a glandular virus and lost my wine taste for almost six months, this Karia is the white wine that brought my taste back.  For that, I will always be grateful because at that point in time I was fearful that I would never be able to taste wine again.  (I could not distinguish between whites, reds or whites and red. Everything tasted like acid or gasoline to me.)

On the nose, I get butterscotch, toast, vanilla and a tad bit of oak. As I smell the wine, I fill with anticipation to taste it. I smelled it, sighed, and said "ahh, everything is going to be alright now."

The beautiful color is reminiscent of liquid gold. 

 

 On the palette I get vanilla bean, toast and enough oak with a hint of tartness on the end to make me want more. This wine is very smooth, and "heavenly" is the word that comes to mind.

One of my favorite lines on a wine label..... perfectly described in such simple and appropriate words. 

"A mere butterfly kiss of oak"

The first time I had this wine was memorable and the last time I had this wine was also memorable. While my grandmother was in the hospital last year I often would spend time with a friend until the wee hours of the morning in order to "escape" even if just for "a moment".  With him I could just "be" and at that moment in my life that feeling was very hard to come by.  During one of my "escapes", as a surprise, he had bought this wine for me and had it open when I arrived.

 

 Drinking this wine is like a walk down memory lane. The memories linger with every delicate sip.

"You can talk with someone for years, everyday, and still, it won't mean as much as what you can have when you sit in front of someone, not saying a word, yet you feel that person with your heart, you feel like you have known the person for forever.... connections are made with the heart, not the tongue.” ― C. JoyBell