We have reached Day 8 of the 12 Days of Wine 2021!
Today we are revisiting a wine that we featured last year. (Yeah, it was that good). This Chardonnay is from The McMinnville AVA. This is the Bailey Family label at Youngberg Hill.
Day 8
Bailey Family 2018 Chardonnay, Willamette Valley
If you followed the 12 Days of Wine 2020, you will have seen the 2017 vintage of this wine there. Well, we really liked that wine! When we visited them this year we were able to taste the new vintage and left with a bottle.
The 2018 Bailey Family Chardonnay has pear, white peach and then citrus notes of meyer lemon, lime and tangerine, subtle vanilla and mineral notes of wet stone.
It has a creamy softness in your mouth and opens to crisp green pear.
These wines are by allocation, but you can head to their site and sign up to be on the list (these wines are worth it!) https://baileyfamilywines.com/wines/
Brie, lemon curd, tangerine, meyer lemon & fresh tarragon
I wanted to dive into the flavors and textures of the wine with this pairing. The brie worked well with the softness of the chardonnay. The lemon curd simply sang with this wine. The thin slices of tangerine and meyer lemon played nicely with the fruit notes in the wine and the fresh tarragon added a bit of depth to the overall pairing.
I remember noticing that even the peel on tangerine and meyer lemon worked well, that tiny bit of bitter pith, adding complexity to the pairing.
Bailey Family Wines & Youngberg Hill
Ages ago we visited Youngberg Hill with my friend Adam. He and his wife had been married there. Then this past year we received wines to taste from them, including 2 Youngberg Hill Pinots and their Bailey Family Chardonnay.
Youngberg Hill – Reminiscing and Making New Memories with 2 Youngberg Hill Pinot Noirs
Bailey Family 2017 Chardonnay – Day 10 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020
Bailey Family Wines is a new label, where they concentrate on their best estate fruit. These wines are exclusively available to their allocation club.
We spent a morning with Wayne Bailey who graciously took us on the “gator” around the vineyard, which has amazing views. He filled us in on their growing practices which are organic and biodynamic. The blocks are all named for the family, Natasha, Jordan and Aspens blocks for their daughters, then the Bailey and Wayne’s World Blocks.
We then found a spot on the patio and tasted through a few of their wines with Wayne and did a more in-depth interview. He is fascinating and passionate and we dove into the differences in the wines from clonal variation and site. I really had a wonderful time learning from him.
Brie, lemon curd, tangerine, meyer lemon & fresh tarragon
Rich brie topped with luscious lemon curd, salty, buttery cashew, thin slices of tangerine, and Meyer lemon for a citrus burst that is not too tart and then finished with fresh tarragon. All of these flavors pair perfectly with a Chardonnay, especially one from the Willamette Valley.
Ingredients
- Brie
- Lemon curd
- Tangerine
- Meyer lemon
- Cashews
- Fresh taragon
Instructions
- Thinly slice rounds of tangerine and meyer lemon
- Cut each slice into quarters
- Cut a slice of brie to fit your serving spoon
- Spoon on a bit of lemon curd
- Top with a quarter slice each of tangerine and Meyer lemon
- Add a couple of cashews
- Finish with a sprig of fresh tarragon
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
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