19 Crimes, California (United States) Chardonnay 2020

 In 2004, the until-then straight-laced Martha Stewart, food and entertaining doyenne, was sentenced to five months in a federal penitentiary for insider trading.  She made the most of the experience, inside and later out.  So, I would have loved to have been in the meeting when either her rep or the winery’s rep suggested, “Why don’t we put the face of Martha, an ex-con, on the label of 19 Crimes?”  Marketing brilliance!  The wine?  It’s in the Kendall Jackson mode – buttery – yet a little leaner, a little greener and with a hint of bitter in the finish, perhaps to atone for the toastiness.  I would judge “Martha’s Chard” guilty of a salt and buttery and sentence it to an 87 with a requirement to return to court next vintage.  Next case (of wine), please.