I hate Chardonnay.....but.....

So during our trip we stumbled upon a little group of wineries just outside of downtown Sonoma. They are known by the general public as the 8th Street East wineries (obviously located on 8th St East) and are very tough to find as almost no signs exist. The group consists of about 6-8 different little gems, each residing in a series of metal warehouse buildings. Our first exposure was to a really small one called Tin Barn which I will discuss a little later. Sandy, the lady in the tasting room at Tin Barn, also works in marketing for all of these little wineries and gave us some advice on where else to try. One of her suggestions was Macrostie Winery (http://www.macrostiewinery.com/) for its Chardonnay.
I stopped her right there... I just dont like Chardonnay. Too buttery and Oaky, they all try way too hard to be the French style Napa Chardonnays...just not my choice. But Sandy did not back down, swearing my opinion would change if I just gave Macrostie a shot. The moral of the story is "Trust Sandy!"
A couple days later we went to the warehouse garage that served as a winery and tasting room for Macrostie. I was still very skeptical of the decision when they lined up 2 Chardonnays as the first two pours. First up, the Carneros Chardonnay. Carneros is a region in the southern part of Sonoma county, bridging highway 12 between Napa and Sonoma. Some of our favorite Pinot Noirs come from this region as it is a very cool and moist area and the grapes tend to be sweeter and more fruity. I can now honestly say that the only Chardonnay I truly enjoyed comes from here as well.
The Macrostie 2007 Carneros Chardonnay is a crisp, smooth wine. Where so many Chardonnays will leave a very dry and oaky aftertaste lingering in your mouth, this one finishes with a mildly citrus taste that is almost like a Sauvignon Blanc, but not as strong or sweet. While many Chardonnays are Barrel Aged in as much as 40-50% new French Oak, this one is only 20% new with a blend of French and Hungarian. The softness this provides is without compare.
Macrostie does have some distribution throughout the US, but this was a bottle we had to bring home. At only $23, this was already a bargain. And my just mentioning they changed my opinion of Chardonnay forever, we got them to knock another 10% off the price.
When you visit Macrostie, make sure you save room for their Pinot Noirs as well. The Wildcat Pinot is especially good.