Today’s wine is offered to you with our strongest recommendation, dear Operative! This is one that you should really stock up on. If you’re a fan of L’Oliveto’s Pinot Noir, which you know delivers incredible value, you’ll flip over today’s budget-friendly Chardonnay.

We’ve been (not so patiently) waiting for L’Oliveto to follow up on their smash hit Pinot from earlier this year - and they’ve done it… in style! Today’s Brack Mountain 2014 L’Oliveto Barrel Fermented Russian River Valley Chardonnay is a truly impressive, uber delicious, ultra-QPR (Quality to price ratio) wine.

This wine is a wonder on the nose, with inviting aromas of golden delicious apple, Asian pear, butterscotch, pineapple, vanilla, lemongrass, white tea and a hint of subtle white spice. On the palate, that barrel fermentation really lends so much flavor and character, with wonderful flavors of Meyer lemon, pineapple, lemon leaf, butterscotch, lemongrass, slate mineral and a touch of subtle white spice.

Today’s wine was made by Dan Fitzgerald, who rose to fame in the ranks of Pinot powerhouses Robert Sinskey Vineyards and Williams-Selyem Winery. We’ve featured many of Dan’s wines, but today’s offers the best price to performace of any of his Chardonnays. Yes, Dan makes beautiful $60 Chardonnays, but this wine delivers so much for such a low price that we just can’t help but gush about the value that it delivers. Honestly, we think that this wine could easily justify a $36 price tag.

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Here’s what the wine press has to say:

95 Points - Christopher Sawyer - ”When gifted winemaker Daniel Fitzgerald began developing the boutique wine label L’Oliveto, his goal was to capture the flavors of ripe fruits, natural acidity and the other unique characteristics from the premium Pinot Noir grapes he works with from the cool-climate region of Russian River Valley in every bottle he producers. Needless to say, this commitment to quality shines in this new release from the 2015 vintage.

Graced with a lovely garnet hue, the wine opens up with alluring scents of ripe red fruits, wild berries, cranberry, cocoa, roasted nuts, and complementary aromas of leather, cigar box, fresh earth and spice. Soft, elegant and expressive, the palate is filled with dynamic flavors of black raspberry, ripe cherry, plum, nectarine, mineral, cinnamon, cardamom and a kiss of oak. As the wine opens up, these generous flavors are interwoven with a lush mouthfeel, vibrant acidity, balanced tannins, and a lingering finish with earthy and spicy tones that suggest a true sense of place. In this case, Russian River Valley at it’s finest.

Food pairing suggestions: crudités with fresh goat cheese and fresh berry jam; roasted vegetables; gourmet sandwiches; wild mushroom raviolis; grilled salmon steaks; Cornish game hen baked with dried lavender; barbequed pork chops; and Peking duck.”