Wine Review: 2019 Beringer Bros. Bourbon Barrel Aged Chardonnay

 

2019 Beringer Bros. Bourbon Barrel Aged Chardonnay

          Now this was something unusual and different. I usually think of Beringer as that other wine on the shelf next to Sutter Home and in the same price range, generally nothing to get too excited about. So when I saw Beringer Bros. Bourbon Barrel Aged Chardonnay I was confused at first. Is this the same Beringer that makes various colors of Moscato and a truly horrible Dry Rose? 

     As it turns out Beringer makes all kinds of different wines. The inexpensive ones that I was previously referring to are from their label called Main & Vine. As a matter of fact, Main & Vine has their own website where you can find all kinds of interesting concoctions like Strawberry Lemonade Rose' and Lemonade Moscato. If you visit the regular Beringer website, you will see no mention of the Main & Vine label but will find many varietals priced upwards of $20 a bottle. A little more digging will bring you to the Beringer Bros. page and to the topic of today's wine review.

     Beringer Bros. makes a special edition series of Spirit Barrel Aged Wines of which the Bourbon Barrel Aged Chardonnay is only one of the selections. Their website lists it at $20 but I found it at the grocery store on sale for $12.49. That's pushing the upward limit of my wine budget but it was worth it.

     This special edition chardonnay is aged in bourbon barrels for 60 days, achieving an alcohol content of 14.5%. The description on the label says, " baked golden apples, toasted almonds and a rich buttery finish". I don't know about the apples and almonds but there are definite flavors of butter and oak but with a light bourbon on top creating a unique ensemble of flavors like I have never tasted. I would almost describe it as "diet bourbon".

     Needless to say, I thought this wine was terrific and my only critique is that the bottle was too small because I wanted another glass.

A Living Wine Label

     Not only does Beringer Bros Bourbon Barrel Aged Chardonnay have a cool vintage label but, if you drink enough, the guys standing in the middle come to life and begin to walk and talk.

     Actually, there's an app for that. If you download the "Living Wine Labels" augmented reality app and then use it to scan the label all kinds of fun things will start happening! Other wines with "living labels" include 19 Crimes, Lindeman's and Matua.