INSIDER'S PICK: 2014 BLUESTONE VINEYARD CHARDONNAY SHENANDOAH VALLEY $23.99

With the University of Virginia students starting to arrive and area K-12 schools either already in session or starting next week, Summer is all but officially over and the city of Charlottesville is back to business as usual. As everyone returns from their travels all over the globe, it's a good time to remind everyone of the quality wines coming from our state's best vineyards. Though they only started putting in vines in 2008, Bluestone Winery near Bridgewater has quickly  earned many accolades, most notably this Chardonnay receiving a Gold at the 2016 Virginia Governor's Cup. Named after the colored limestone that is prevalent in the local soil ,as well as a key feature in the architecture of the original James Madison University campus, the Bluestone component brings out an extra layer of complexity that warrants the wine being included in the 'Governor's Case' from last year.
Definitely built in the Californian style of Chardonnay versus a Burgundian approach, the aromas are unabashedly rich and round, loaded with creamy pear and apple tones and a little touch of smoky oak, but surprisingly well integrated and in control as it can take even the best wines some time to absorb their oak. On the palate the wine is even more successful, showing initial mouth-filling fruit and excellent polish with the fruit from the nose, then developing the mineral character on the finish that gives the wine some complexity and interest. This is a very good wine that doesn't need the qualifier 'for Virginia' added, it stands on its own merits.

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