A friend and I continue our quest for butter. Opened two bottles that are supposedly famous for it. Hoping for intense vanilla, caramel, butter, and anything else without notable drawbacks. Yes, I understand this style of wine is currently out of style, but not to me.

Chateau Montelena, Napa Valley, Chardonnay, 2021, 13.7% abv.

Nose: butter, supported by wood, vanilla, cream, hints of chalk and medium chlorine, a bit of forest, with time there is more fruit like candied lemon, dull green apples, grape jelly, cherimoya, medium pineapple, and lychee jelly, but the tropical aromas seem to attentuate after each sip.

Palate: medium body, entry is a medium cream and light butter lemon juice, hint of lemon and pear juice, but the mid palate has pronounced salted butter, clear lemon juice, coffee cream, citrus cream, back palate has the vanilla pop out, light grapefruit, light lychee, hint of salted melon, alcohol creeps up with subsequent sips. As the temperature lowers the back becomes more bitter-tart, light black peppercorn-like dare I say a woody astringency? However this "sting" at the end disappears with time along with the butter and cream elements.

Finish: short but the alcohol lasts a little longer, mostly cream, leftover citrusy tropical fruits, old fermented pineapple, young oranges.

Vernacular: nosing shows mostly butter and other wine-oak elements, minerals, orchard fruit, and tropical fruit. Medium bodied with good acidity, diminishing oak, light minerality, and alcohol, with a bitter element coming at the back. Finish is short, alcohol, showcasing the fruit from the nose and palate.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The balance between the fruit and butter was initially acceptable, but the butter and oak elements seemed to have disappeared an hour in on a chilled bottled. Didn't enjoy the notable alcohol presence and the weird bite on the back palate, which fortunately disappeared 2-3 hours in.

Grade: C+

Nickel & Nickel, Truchard Vineyard, Carneros, Chardonnay, 2022, 14.2% abv.

Nose: strong honey dew rind, ripe honey dew, strong anjou pears, freshly peeled anjou pear skin, do I detect presence of bartlett pears too? in between almonds and macadamia nuts, with time there are young apricots, light green apples, slight vanilla honey in the background, with the vanilla elements amplified to vanilla cream with air exposure.

Palate: medium body but it gets closer to full bodied with each sip, complex, entry reminds me of some new zealand sauvignon blanc, lots of fruity syrups, mid palate has hints of honey butter, pears, lemons, fermented apricots, back palate really has the peaches and ripe melons come out, some vanilla on top of honey dew slices, unsalted butter, hints of alcohol.

Finish: short, calcium, mostly honey dew syrup, steamed orchard fruits, hints of tropical citrus, toasted brioche, hints of cherry cough medicine, mouth-coating.

Vernacular: nosing is strong melon fruit, pear species, and exotic nuts. Vanilla and butter elements are in the background. Medium to full bodied, complex, good acidity, moderate oak, and little minerality. Finish is short with light minerality but dominant fruit.

This was an interesting Chardonnay. A viscous white that showed more fruit than oak elements, with the fruit being quite different as well, melons and pears. I do think there were additional "fruit" and/or "nut" elements on the nose and palate, but I couldn't identify them and online posts didn't help either. Even though this isn't my style, I can appreciate the complexity. Will be generous here.

Grade: B-