Bella Vineyards & Wine Caves is back, with their killer 2013 Ru’s Farm Russian River Valley Chardonnay. Bella’s winemaker Michael Dashe has made wines at some of the world’s most iconic wineries, including Ridge, Far Niente & Lafite Rothschild. Looking for bang for your buck? Look no further!

Let us walk you through why this is a tremendous deal with an existentialist question; “when is a Chardonnay too much to handle?” If a) too expensive, b) too oaky, c) too flabby, d) too buttery e) too old or f) all of the above? Well, this 2013, with ALL that age on it, believe it or not, is NONE of the above. It is a loud wine for sure, yet flamboyant in all the right places, big ripeness, big juiciness, big spiciness. All that immensity at a tiny, sub-$15 price? That is HALF OFF folks, wow, just wow.

Deeply golden, like the Russian River Valley sunshine (under which this was grown) when the fog lifts on a harvest morning. Intense aromas of candied pineapple, butterscotch, Midori liqueur, and pureed mango waft from the glass. A symphony of enticing flavors unfold once sipped, with peach nectar, ginger crème brûlée, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Long, sweet and spicy on the finish, suggestive of the notes a Bananas Foster French Toast would leave. An extravagant pairing suggestion would be drawn butter dipped crab claws, for simplicity, try with a Hawaiian pizza.

Winemaker Michael Dashe has been making wine since 1986 when he got his start with Napa’s Schramsberg Wine Cellars. In 1987 he went to work for Far Niente. From there, Michael took his wine career abroad to New Zealand, where he worked for New Zealand’s Cloudy Bay winery - before a stint at world-famous Château Lafite Rothschild. Today, Michael makes wines for a handful of wineries, including Bella and his own namesake Dashe Cellars wines.