Tasting Notes

Release Date: Spring 2013

Making the style of Chardonnay we aspire to is becoming more of a challenge with the global warming trend. Our model is a wine of subtlety and grace which provides pleasure for twenty years.

2010 gave us a year where the Chardonnay (Pinot too!) grew slowly and evenly with lots of sun but no hot days. Harvesting in October, a full three weeks later than usual, I knew this was going to be a special year, given the cool summer.

After twenty months of aging in the bottle, the 2010 shows great structure and lees-soil nuance. Refined aromas of lanolin, lemon zest, anise and sage invite you in. Flavors of hazelnut, anise and lemon are embellished with a fundamental acidity. The finish is energetic and long.

The final blend was 55% from Mount Eden Estate and 45% from Domaine Eden. Aging potential is between five to fifteen years in a cool cellar.

Production

1,977

Tech Notes

Yield: 2.2 tons per acre

Harvest: September 22th-October 7th

Numbers @ Harvest: 23.6° Brix, 3.40 pH, 8.5 grams acidity

Barrel Regimen: French Burgundy-1/2 new; aged 11 months in barrel, sur-lie

Bottling: July 2011

Alcohol: 14.2%

Reviews

91 points Antonio Galloni presents Vinous - July 2013

The 2010 Chardonnay comes across as quite rich and honeyed. Today, it is a bit bombastic, so readers will need to let the wine settle down in bottle. Juicy apricots, flowers, mint and peach notes flesh out on the big, broad-shouldered finish. The Domaine Eden Chardonnay is composed of 60% fruit from the property (the old Cinnabar) and 40% declassified Estate Chardonnay barrels.

90 points Steve Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar - November/December 2013

Bright gold. Aromas of poached pear, honey and marzipan, with a bright lemon zest nuance adding vivacity. Fleshy and broad on entry, then tighter in the middle, offering lively citrus and orchard fruit flavors and notes of candied fig and ginger. Drier on the finish, which shows very good focus and lingering spiciness. Rich and vivid

87 points Wine Spectator - July 2013

Crisp, with a flinty edge to the citrus and green fruit flavors, ending with a zesty lemon and pear edge. Drink now through 2018.