Hopefully all my readers know that my palate goes just about anywhere a good wine can be found. I have no particular style that is my favorite although I try to find a wine that fits my craving at the time I am drinking it. Take chardonnay for instance. I have heard many folks say quite adamantly  they do not like big goopy over-oak chardonnay. Fair enough, but I feel that there is a time and place for this style. Instead of that big bowl of butter pecan vanilla ice cream, why not a glass of big goopy oaked chardonnay? It is probably a little healthier for you and you will find it quite satisfying. What I try to look for in recommending chardonnay is what I call a good cross-over wine. Another words, a chard that plays both sides of the spectrum. Good acid, some butter notes with hints of oak that allows the fruit to project itself. A chardonnay that is good with food but also will be quite satisfying all by itself.  A chard that has a lot of oak needs food... A fatty piece of chicken or some fettuccine in cream sauce. The same is true of a fat buttery chardonnay. To be solo a chardonnay has to have the acid that allows it to finish clean leaving you refreshed, unless of course you want some comfort chardonnay like a big bowl of ice cream.
I would like to introduce you to Educated Guess Chardonnay. This wine is 100% Napa Valley fruit, 85% from Oak Knoll and 15% from Mt. Veeder. This wine sees 50% barrel fermentation and 50% steel. This is one of the best cross-over wines I have run across in some time. Holding the line as a creamy rich chard (This wine went through 50% malolactic fermentation) it also shows some excellent acid to fruit balance. A beam of acidity drives the fruit flavors through the mid-palate to the finish. This wine also has a sexy nose of tropical fruits and buttery toast. In fact, when I first smelled this wine I was sure I was going to get a goopy butterball... it didn't happen. Yes there is some butter, there is some oak but there is also loads of fresh tropical fruit notes including pineapple, melon and guava. The finish is clean and does not stick to your palate but has excellent length. This my friends is a chardonnay that will please the oak palate as well as the palate craving a cleaner style or even the one looking for a little more fruit. If you are a buttered popcorn chard lover, this would even satisfy your craving although not to the hedonistic extent some can. Overall, I highly recommend this wine to a large number of palates and I can guarantee you it will be a regular at my table.  90 points.  Stan The Wine Man