Before starting out here On my review of the 2013 Instant Gratification Chardonnay I
feel that I have to suggest to you that this particular wine should be left
off of the "must impress list". This wine is simply not a wine that I
would present to anyone as a serious attempt at trying to impress them with a quality
Chardonnay. Simply said, the amount of carbonation present throughout
the win is really a distraction to the Palatte,
it reminds me of a wine cooler in that sense but without the
overwhelming sugar. One other drawback to this wine is the fact that you
must wait almost a minute after pouring before you can taste this wine
due to the overwhelming fault of that carbonation and even then the
carbonation is sensed as an intruding tingle and never really seems to
go away. I am totally put off by these two factors and I also don't
think I can bring myself to put these factors factors aside. Now it is very unusual that I start off a review with the major negative to the very wine that I am reviewing but in this case I could not help it. With that being said here is my review.
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| Iron Gate Winery Barrel Room |
Today we are going to review the 2013 Instant Gratification Chardonnay from I.G Winery in Cedar City, Utah (
http://igwinery.com/). This wine is made from grapes grown on the Central Coast AVA of California. So....what can I say about this wine? Well.....let's get into into this review real quickly because it will be a rather short review indeed. On the opening of this wine there is a large note of carbonation. Both in the glass and on the Palatte this carbonation is at the least moderately annoying and at the most at offensive levels. When I first tasted the wine I remember almost being jolted back with surprise because the carbonation was that noticable. Somewhere along the wine making process there was either a second fermentation or perhaps the wine maker ran into what is known as "stuck fermentation". Sometimes during the making of the Chardonnay varietal the second fermentation process is used in order to bring about a softer, butter like note. I do not know. What I do know is that the amount of carbonation in this wine did it in in my book. The wine does have some nice qualities however to it so let's now move into that. There is a semi nice, semi dry note of Kiwi. I thought the note was nice on one hand yet slightly subdued on the other hand. As an opening note it did it's job and brought you along for what was to follow. The Kiwi was followed up with a nice and rather lively Pear note which was developed rather nicely and is rather unusual for a Chardonnay grown in a cooler climate. Both the Kiwi and the Pear notes compliment one another nicely and present themselves on the Palatte with confidence. What is missing? Theirs no "buttery" mouth feel whatsoever present in the wine that would have possibly cut the carbonation to an acceptable extent or been the reason for the secondary fermentation. There are however fairly simple yet sufficient notes of Peach and melon notable which is uncharacteristic of Chardonnay grown in cooler climate (such as the California Coast) the grapes were grown in. A slight higher note of Alcohol (14.5%) is also exhibited on the Palatte but to my surprise it is a note that works to attempt to bring this wine (almost) into balance. Look folks, I don't really feel that bombing this wine is in order. I just really wish that the carbonation was not as prominent, offensive and did not always linger in my mouth that is all.The wine did have saving graces in the levels of notes listed but that darn carbonation just killed it in my book.
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| Iron Gate Bed & Breakfast |
So it is now time. Time to wrap this review up and put this information all together for you. Yes, this review was fairly short but I believe that I have said all that there is to say about this simply mediocre wine. I just did not feel inspired and in that aspect this wine also failed. Do my thoughts of not presenting this to someone you want to impress still stand? In a simple answer, yes, you bet they do. If you like carbonation that persists in your wines or distracts from the rest of the wine than you will indeed like / love this wine. If you however are like the folks I know, that carbonation note will not sit well with you. Are there redeeming qualities? The simple answer as you can probably guess is....it depends on what qualities you are talking about having to about redeem this wine with. If you want me to redeem the wine into the "Very Good - 86-89 - Has character, Well balanced, & distinctive" rating then you will have to keep on wanting because that is not going to happen. If you are talking about a rating of a wine that I would rate an "83-85 - Fairly drinkable, Semi-distinctive, Does not hold to varietal standards, Might have some undesirable notes that prohibit elevation to the next rating" than you are in line with me. On The Desert Wine Guy Rating Scale I am placing this wine at an 85. As a pool wine or a wine that is for friends who are not real knowledgeable on the subject of wine or like what I would call "so so" wine this will fit the bill. If you are presenting this as a Chardonnay to people who know anything about Chardonnay or the wine making process I would do some more searching folks because this is not the wine.
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| Iron Gate Winery Entrabce |
One last item here guys. I have reviewed an I.G wine previously (
http://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-desert-wine-guy-2005-iron-gate.html) giving it a rating of 90 points so Doug does make some rather nice wines but I feel that this is not one of them. Aside from the NORMALLY decent wine that Doug makes there are other reasons to visit the winery and Cedar City, Utah. When you do visit the winery go ahead and sit outside at the tables and enjoy the wine they offer. While you are sitting at the tables you will also notice the wonderful Apple Tree that sits right along side the Bed & Breakfast on the property. I hope it is Apple season when you go because the Apple Tree grows Apples that will blow you away. The apples will also be a distraction should you bring your children since Utah has what is known as the "Zion Curtain" (
http://le.utah.gov/~2013/bills/static/HB0228.html) law which prohibits anyone under 21 from watching Alcohol poured. No one under 21 is allowed in the winery. By the way right across the campus of Southern Utah University (which is literally 1 block away) holds the annual Shakespeare Festival (https://www.bard.org/plays/2017) as well as other theater events that is unbelievable to experience.
The Desert Wine Guy
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