($91): At $91 a bottle, the price gets your attention, even though it’s not California’s most expensive Chardonnay (Marcassin Estate takes that honor).  But after tasting the 2011 Grgich Hills Estate Paris Tasting Chardonnay, it’s the wine, not the price, you remember.  It should come as no surprise that Grgich Hills should make stunning Chardonnay.  It was, after all, Mike Grgich who made the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that brought California wines to the world’s attention when French judges ranked it first, above famous (and far more expensive) white Burgundies at the 1976 Paris Tasting.   This 2011 Chardonnay is positively stunning because of its elegance, length and a subtle power that slowly reveals itself and sweeps you away.  Part of its glory is what it isn’t — an in your face powerhouse.  Rather, it expands in the glass — indeed, it was even better the second night after being left open in the refrigerator.  The Grgich Hills signature of vibrant acidity amplifies the wine’s many facets — from its delicate fruitiness to an alluring creaminess to a mineraly edginess.  It has a purity that hard to define.  It’s easy to see how Grgich stunned the French.
97 Michael Apstein Jul 8, 2014