For whatever reason, it seems there are a disproportional number of scary, Halloween themed wines which are red.   Perhaps it has to do with the color red being thematic with the color of blood.  Or perhaps it’s because only ghosts and skeletons are white, and the wine passes right through them. Fortunately, Benefactor Cellars Chardonnay from South Eastern Australia not only has Skeletons on the bottle, but also offers a chardonnay.  At only $6 though, is it a scary good deal or just plain scary?

Sight:  A firm gold, with lemon yellow edges.

Smell:  There’s a  good hit of pineapple and oak off the top.  The oak is a little bit overpowering, and the wine gets a little skunky.   Some other tropical fruits are present,  but they’re hidden in the vast amount of smoke.

Sip:  The body starts off thick, and stays that way.  It doesn’t ever really get to any sort of fruit beyond some bitter tropical flavors.  There’s a bit of smoke, but it’s overwhelmed the amount of bitterness.

Savor:  The ending is overwhelmingly smokey, and it doesn’t pull in much fruit.

Benefactor Cellars Chardonnay is unfortunately not for the benefit of the drinker, but perhaps the benefit of the barrel. The influence of oak is far to the strong end, and overwhelms a lot of the tropical fruit flavors, leaving this wine slightly dead.  There are some redeeming qualities in terms of the hints of pineapple and the nose slightly.  Overall though, Benefactor Cellars Chardonnay is just overwhelmingly smoky, oaky, and bitter, and there are better bottles out there, even if they don’t have the skeletons on the label.

Verdict:  Smoke, Oak, Bitter, Tropical Fruit
Price: $5.99
South Eastern Australia