St. Clement Chardonnay 1999

The 1999 Napa Valley Chardonnay is very floral, showing flavors of honeysuckle and narcissus, with toasted almond and a tropical essence of ripe banana, mango and key limes. It has a creamy mouth feel, with a nice soft entry that is clean and crisp. Although a full-bodied wine, it is light and full of ripe fruit on the palate and shows a good balance between the weight of the rich fruit and the crisp acids of the vintage. Although aged in new oak, the oak is not the predominant character and there is a good balance between the oak and fruit and acids, which gives the wine a lot of finesse. This is an exceptional food wine that has the structure and balance to compliment heavily flavored foods, as the citrusy, crisp acids in this wine will compliment even spicy dishes made with soy or ginger.