Chardonnay
84/100
The short takeAn approachable take on buttery California Chardonnay. The tart finish gives the soft, toasty palate an edge and makes the next sip inviting. I'd drink it again and buy it again.
Tasted Karl HillHow we score
Try instead
-
2024 Chardonnay
A higher-scoring bottle in this style
Oceano Zero 2024 Chardonnay sits at 88 in the same style. It has stronger acidity.
Compare -
2023 Neue Brut
A higher-scoring bottle in this style
Society De La Rassi 2023 Neue Brut sits at 87 in the same style. It has stronger acidity.
Compare -
Le Blanc
A higher-scoring bottle in this style
French Bloom Le Blanc sits at 86 in the same style. It has stronger acidity.
Compare
In the glass
- Appearance
- Clear gold.
- Nose
- Light. Brown sugar and dough lead, with ripe fruit behind them. The bouquet stays gentle and does not fill the glass.
- Palate
- Slightly sweet and medium-bodied, with a soft, rounded texture. Ripe fruit carries through at moderate intensity. Butter is the clearer flavor, and toast and a distinct oak note come with it. The opening is easy to read.
- Finish
- Medium and clean. Grapefruit-like tartness cuts through the butter, and vanilla lingers after it. That tart edge is the part that stays.
Structure and likeness Show Hide
Structure
- Sweetness
- Dry
- Acidity
- Moderate acidity
- Body
- Medium body
- Finish length
- Medium finish
How wine-like is it?
Moderate wine likeness
Separate from the score. A convincing resemblance is not a higher rating.
It has the shape of a richer California Chardonnay, and the aroma stays light. Wine-likeness is 1 of 2.
The wine
Hand on Heart is clear gold in the glass. The nose is gentle, with brown sugar, dough, and ripe fruit. That fruit carries into the first sip, where the wine is slightly sweet, medium-bodied, and soft around the edges. Butter is more apparent on the palate, and the toast and oak come through clearly. Together they give the wine the familiar shape of a richer California Chardonnay.
The acidity makes itself felt late. Just as the butter and toast seem set to carry through the sip, a grapefruit-like tartness cuts across them. The change is especially noticeable after such a round opening. Vanilla lingers through the medium-length finish, a trace of the palate’s richness alongside that clean, tart edge.
Most of the wine’s development happens in that turn. None of that is loud. The intensity stays moderate, and the glass is easy to follow. The aroma stays light, and the palate is easy to read, with ripe fruit, butter, and toast in the foreground. The finish gives those flavors a sharper outline and is the part I remember most. I’d come back to this for the familiar buttery character and the snap of tartness at the end.
84 sits above the median of the 27 dealcoholized Chardonnay bottles we've tasted.
The bottle
Trade record, where to buy, and product facts.
Show
Hide
Research notes
The front label on the Total Wine packshot reads hand on heart, alcohol removed chardonnay, california. It does not print a vintage or a percent. The 2020 producer sell sheet says California, 100% Chardonnay, stainless-steel fermented, aged 100% in stainless steel, pH 3.53, TA 8.6 g/L, and contains less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. It says nutrition is available on request, and it does not name a removal machine. The sheet’s aroma lines name buttered popcorn, mango, peach, nectarine, apricot, toasted almond, and sweet spice. Those lines are not this tasting. The original sheet URL returned 404 on 3 November 2026. The copy on file is the Internet Archive capture of 27 November 2025.
Where to buy
- Total Wine & More
- Package
750 ml
- Typical price
-
$11.99 / package
- Availability
Sold through Total Wine & More; confirmed in Newport News VA store stock (checked 2026-11-03)
Prices and availability are independently observed and may change. Retailer listings do not imply endorsement. A different package is labeled as a different format. Reader-service exceptions and commercial links are identified above; neither affects scores, rankings, classification, verification, or editorial coverage.
Product facts
- Origin
- California, United States
- Grapes
- 100% Chardonnay
- Base beverage
- California Chardonnay, alcohol removed
- Bottle / can
- 750 ml
Sources & verification
Show details
Hide details
Source links leave this site and open in a new tab.
Evidence at a glance
- Bottle verified4 facts
- Producer documented2 facts
- Retailer sourced3 facts
Sources
-
4 notes
- Production
- The packshot label reads alcohol removed chardonnay. No page opened for this bottle names the machine, so the method stays undeclared.
- Country
- The label reads california. The sheet says Appellation: California.
- Region
- The label reads california. The sheet’s appellation line is California.
- Base beverage
- The sheet says the fruit is 100% Chardonnay, stainless-steel fermented and aged in stainless steel.
-
2 notes
- ABV
- The 2020 sell sheet says Contains Less Than 0.5% Alcohol by Volume. The photographed front label does not print a percent. The stored figure follows the sheet.
- Grapes
- The 2020 sheet says 100% Chardonnay. The label names Chardonnay and does not give a percentage.
Additional sources
Product record history Sourced changes and open disagreements. Prior claims stay on the record when sources conflict.
- ReviewedReviewed and published.