Sandholdt Chardonnay

Wine: Sandholdt Chardonnay

Grape: Chardonnay

Region: Sonoma County, Calif.

Vintage: 2008

Price: $3.99

Availability: Lee’s Discount Liquors

In the glass: Sandholdt Chardonnay is a fine light-lemon yellow with hues of mature straw color streaking through it and a slight greenish tint going out into a glass-clear meniscus with medium-high viscosity.

On the nose: There are lovely frontal notes of green mango, ripe golden delicious apples, canned pineapple, lemon rind and Key lime pie with underlying notes of minerality and oak, as well as hints of bergamot and pine.

On the palate: It is an extremely pleasant wine with a soft mouth-feel punctuated by ripe white fruit, Moltke pears, tender winter melon and classic white Burgundian a la Meursault-type mineral characteristics. The midpalate shows superb balance between fruit and acidity, all leading into a lengthy, restrained, citrusy finish that lingers for 20-plus seconds.

Odds and ends: This wine represents what good California chardonnay is all about, with its sun-kissed fruit and relative fatness and a higher alcohol than its French counterparts. It also comes at a crazy price. After picking this out of a tasting, I went to the winery’s website and noticed it should be $15, which is not bad for a good California chardonnay. Imagine my delight at it selling for less than $4 locally. While we are still in the throes of winter in some ways, there’s no reason not to start celebrating spring a little early with this Sandholdt Chardonnay. As it is from the 2008 vintage, I’d consider it at the perfect peak of its maturity now. Chill it to about 52 degrees Fahrenheit and serve it with a cheese fondue or roasted sea bass on a bed of spinach. Drink it now through 2014.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.