Having devoted space to some Smart Americans last week, we bring in some reinforcements in the shape of Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs gathered together by the UK arm of Wines of California for a recent tasting in London.
This collection also served to reinforce two preconceptions about Californian wine. Firstly, that the sunshine state excels at making big, powerful wines with rich fruit and generous oak influence. Secondly, that the less expensive bottlings (around £20 RRP, which is hardly cheap anyway, roughly equivalent to $28/€23) are unfortunately rarely, if ever, good value in the UK market.
There are some exceptions...