Martha Clara Vineyards 2010 Reserve Chardonnay ($22) shows honey-baked apples, pineapple, and lemon peel fruit aromas on the nose with a healthy dose of toasty oak, eggnog and vanilla.

Nice, ripe fruit — apple and pineapple — greets the palate, but it’s a bit overwhelmed by woody-vanilla spice notes. Full bodied, it offers a rich, creamy mid-palate and well-balanced acidity.

If you like the style, it’s fairly well done, but the finish is just a bit boozy.

Producer: Martha Clara Vineyards
AVA: North Fork of Long Island
ABV: 13.5%
Price: $22*

 

(2.5 out of 5, Average-to-Very Good)