As California Wine Month draws to a close, I thought it would be fitting to round out the month by writing about a Chardonnay from Michel-Schlumberger Wines. Michel-Schlumberger is a small-production, organic vineyard located in California's Dry Creek Valley. The other night my husband and I decided that with the warm weather we've been having in the Northeast, it might be nice to crack open a bottle of white wine with dinner and decided to pull the 2005 La Brume Chardonnay from our wine rack. The wine is made from Dijon-clone grapes. The wine is 100 percent barrel-fermented, with some of the barrels allowed to ferment using the wild yeasts present on the grapes.

From the winery's Web site:

Michel-Schlumberger, Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma County, California) Chardonnay "La Brume" 2005 : A whiff of orange blossom and a hint of honeysuckle rise from the glass promising pleasure ahead, and the palate is not disappointing. The purity of robust, ripe fruit, the cool, the cleansing impression of minerality and the richness of French oak all come together harmoniously in this commendable Dry Creek Valley Chardonnay. 89 Marguerite Thomas Mar 27, 2007

What stood out to both of us was the fact that is wasn't your typical over-oaked california chardonnay. There was a very subtle hint of wood that didn't dominate the wine at all, and in fact rounded it out really well. It has a bit of apple, pear, lemon, and butterscotch. (An interesting combination to be sure!) It's a very dry Chardonnay, and if you didn't know it was from California, you might think it was from Burgundy. Michel-Schlumberger 2005 La Brume Chardonnay retails for around $32.

[Disclosure: I received a sample of this wine and I was not under any obligation to review it or to say anything specific about this item. Everything was solely at my discretion."]