Vega Sindoa Chard: Is that SEAWEED?

I'm not kidding. Read on for the deets of my sad tasting experience...

The Wine: Vega Sindoa
Grape: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2007
Price: $11.99 in Atlanta

Where It's From: Navarra, Spain (up and coming region, just northeast of Rioja)

Normal Description: So, Navarra is a rising star in the world of Spanish wines. It's mostly known for phenomenal rose' (known as rosado) and for tempranillo and garnacha (which are the grapes in Rioja), but allegedly there are some fab chardonnays from there too. Apparently not this one.

The wine is full-on, sunflower yellow, so I knew the wine was aged in oak (tannin from the oak imparts color). I was worried that it was going to be an oak bomb, a la California chards, but upon raising it my nose I realized there was more of a Japanese influence...it smelled like seaweed. Seaweed and jasmine flowers, with just a little bit of tart granny smith.

So, basically I was diving into apple sushi. Nice.

My tasting experience did not conclude well. The wine felt rough, harsh and acidic in my mouth. The finish was herbal with notes of under ripe pineapple.

I'm sticking to Navarra's rosados and reds.

Got snap or is it crap?: I can't say this was a complete crap-fest. I know it sounds nasty but once I got past the smell of the thing, it was kind of a boring chard. It's highly mediocre. With all the chards out there, I'd skip this one in favor of something more delish any day of the week, but it's not total crap if you're forced to drink it.

*Special Bonus on this wine: Vega Sindoa is really excited about aging the wine sur lie (basically means the wine sits on the yeast's decaying, dead bodies, which ideally creates a nutty flavor, but here probably added to the swampiness). They tell you two times, one right after the other, that the wine is aged sur lie in barrel. If they can't proofread the label, I fear for the QC on the winemaking. Yikes!