Yes, that is the full name of the wine. Beringer makes about 10,000 kinds of wine, so I guess it's necessary, even if highly confusing...but names like this make the appellation systems of France and Italy seem simplistic by comparison.

Anyway, on to the wine: I bought this (along with a Dolcetto that I managed to break in the driveway on the way to my parents' house {Vietti 1998--if I buy another, I'll let you know}) to accompany my monther's holiday meal of ham. It was a tough choice about what to bring: I settled on bringing a light-bodied red wine and a full-bodied white wine. It seems, however, that I broke the wrong bottle in the driveway.

It was a good wine, I guess, but there was a lot going on with its flavor and aroma that seemed to cause conflict. For example, it had a strong oakiness about it (common with California chardonnays), but also substantial fruitiness--lots of pear and apple. Either of these alone might have made for a better wine, but together it seemed a muddle. But then again, white wine really isn't my bag, baby. I paid about $15 for the bottle, and while it was clearly the kind of complex wine I was looking for, the various levels of taste and smell never really got together.

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