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  Leaping Horse Chardonnay Winery: Leaping Horse Vinyards, Lodi, CA Style: Dry White Year: 2004 Price Range: 1.5 L- $7.99 to $9.99 Rating:8.5/10 In 1989, John and Gail Kautz, now joined by their four children, began building Ironstone Vineyards Winery and Caverns in the historic gold rush community of Murphys, California. In 2003, they released Leaping Horse Vineyards and added Sonoma Creek to the family’s holdings. Today, the Kautz family owns over 5,000 acres of vineyards in the Lodi region and Sierra Foothills and is the 8th largest family owned and operated wineriy in California. At $7.99 a mag, Leaping Horse chardonnay represents tremendous value in a very nice jug wine. It's made using the artisan “reductive” winemaking style to accentuate the fresh fruit flavors that occur naturally in Chardonnay grapes. Its tasty tropical fruit, pear and green apple flavors finish dry and crisp. The Leaping Horse website (which is just a bit too hip with it's attempts at youthful humor) claims that because this wine has never seen an oak barrel, you can taste the tropical fruit. Yet the label mentions a hint of oak, so I'm a little confused. In any case, you'd be hard pressed to find a better chardonnay priced at $7.99 a mag. Actually, I doubt there is one. Highly recommended.
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