Free Range O'nnay

From the Wimbledon (??) Wine Company, makers of HRM Rex Goliath 'Free Range' wines:

Amidst the splendor of Monterey County, the HRM Rex Goliath vineyards enjoy the most optimum growing conditions to create premium Central Coast Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. The wines & label art honor HRM (His Royal Majesty) Rex Goliath, who at the turn of the century, was the treasured attraction of a Texas Circus. People came from far and wide to behold the 47lb bird billed as the ‘World’s Largest Rooster’. The label replicates the one of a kind vintage artwork from the circus banner that hung above Rex’s Roost. This new line of attractively priced wines, launched in the summer of 2002, showcases the supple fruit-driven style of California’s coastal vineyards.

I wouldn't label this brand, "premium."  I tried Goliath Pinot Noir, and well, let's just say it was the opposite of premium.  Today after walking the dog, cleaning the kitchen, and inexplicably working outrageously hard at the gym, I craved a no-brainer wine.  H.R.M. Rex Chardonnay was rolling around in the wine fridge.  It is a fairly unoffensive, fruit-bombish Chardonnay.  Not completely over the top.  Yet not hitting the magic sweet spot that Bogle seems to be able to nail with its eight-buck Chardonnay.

The Skinny
Rex Goliath Central Coast Chardonnay, '03 ($8)

• Lemon-gold in color with visible stickiness on the sides of the glass
• Pineapple, peach and caramel-spice-oak scents
• Medium-bodied, heading towards full-bodied with bold, fruity flavors, heavy alcohol, and too-light crispness

**.5 (2.5 stars out of 5)

All in all, an OK Saturday afternoon, post-gym, workout-negating wine.  Best to drink it all by its lonesome, as this Chard'O'nnay will likely clobber most foods with its heavy fruity-oak punch.