Rickshaw California Chardonnay

Banshee Wines is not your normal wine company. It is a band of wine industry insiders dedicated to producing benchmark wines without the cult wine prices. They specialize in finding hidden gems in other wineries' cellars and then blending those barrels to create killer wines. For every barrel they take, they pass on 15 more that don't make the cut. The secret is that today, high-end wineries can't sell all the wine they make and they don't want to lower prices because they don't want to diminish their brand. They would rather sell some of their wine to Banshee and protect their luxury prices. This is just fine by them and even better for the consumer. You'll find Banshee on some of the best restaurant lists in the world and in the cellars of the wine cognoscenti. You know, those people that tend to know these types of things. Winery’s goal is to deliver distinctive wines that beat the pants off many costing twice as much.

Rickshaw Chardonnay is fresh and vibrant aromatically. On the palate it is forward tropical California fruit with vanilla, toast, all tied together with a fair bit of lemony verve. We’d like to add that over the last several years I have tasted several hundred different chardonnays from all over California. The quality that’s apparent in this 2014 Rickshaw Chardonnay is rare, and usually only found in chardonnays at $30 or $40 or more. We simply haven’t seen this quality in many chardonnays under $20 per bottle or in ANY chardonnays that sell for as little as $11.99. This is a beautifully crafted 2014 chardonnay at a shockingly low price that makes it a “supervalue”.

With or without food, this wine is a study in grace as it gently peels back paper-thin layers of Chardonnay, unperverted by the ravages of oak. This crisply styled offering pairs especially well with lightly cooked shellfish, but can also provide a refreshing counterpoint to simply prepared poultry, pork and veal dishes. Consider, too, lighter pastas or rice dishes, especially those featuring shrimp or scallops. Or how about more daring matches like a salad tossed with crab, avocado and Meyer lemon dressing; or seared ahi with fresh corn and crispy pancetta?