Brett happens

Chardonnay 2011, Napa Valley, Stags’ Leap ($35.00, 00747444)
100% Chardonnay. A blend of estate-grown and purchased grapes. Hand-picked and whole cluster-pressed. A quarter of the wine was fermented in new French oak, a quarter in stainless steel and the rest in used oak. Malolactic fermentation was prevented. Matured six months on the lees with weekly stirring. 13.5% ABV per SAQ.com, 14.1% per the label.
A pretty promising nose, especially for a CalChard: citrus, pear, understated peach, stones, subtle oak, a whiff of alcohol. A let-down in the mouth. The good: middleweight; clean fruit, mostly grapefruit and green apple, with the expected tropical mix only hinted at; it’s not devoid of acidity; there are actually some minerals albeit vaguely metallic ones; the oak is a minor player; it’s butter-free. The bad: lacks precision; the minerals and acidity don’t coalesce into a structure, so the wine’s a little flabby; an odd bitter note lingers; the alcohol flares lightly on the finish. In short, a wine that’s less than the sum of its parts. It’s not terrible – certainly far more drinkable than some of the butter bomb Chards coming out of the Golden State – but, if you’re like me, you won’t be keen to have a second glass. The ugly truth: hard to justify when $35 gets you an all-singing, all-dancing white Burg. (Buy again? No.)