It’s a struggle to even put two sentences together today after the rout that was the American election yesterday and all that I personally believe in but the President and former Secretary of State had the presence of mind to get up and make speeches and put a good face on it so whom am I to be a slacker and cry into my wine. Today is a new day and it’s important to look ahead and give President elect Trump a chance to show he isn’t as awful as I suspect, just like many chardonnays. I wasn’t always in the “ABC” camp but had spent some time as one of those anything but chardonnay people.

The same can be said of Chardonnay, a grape I often discount and stay away from a priori. That would have been short-sighted in this case and I would have missed this lovely Chardonnay from John Tate and his son Franklin Tate of Franklin Tate Estates. The winery is located in the Margaret River region. The area is located on both the Indian and Southern Oceans. The climate in this area is both warm in the morning and cool in the afternoon. That taken with the ocean breezes enables the fruit to remain healthy and achieve phenolic ripeness. The area is also quite isolated which allows it to be free of many of the problems that plague more densely populated regions. Their oenologist is Rory Clifton-Parks. When making their 2015 Chardonnay, after crushing and pressing, the wine goes through partial barrel fermentation and is then matured in French oak for a time.

The wine was creamy, with nice acidity to balance out its toasty, citrus and apple aromas and flavors. It would work well with many foods including lobster and salmon. This is a wine I might not have been open to and yet it was delicious. I doubt I will feel the same way about the political situation but at least I will have lots of wine, including this great chardonnay to console me.