Tasting Notes

Release Date: Fall 2017

Displaying classic Santa Cruz Mountains acidity and length of flavor, 2014 is just now becoming evolved enough to release; a tell-tale sign of long life in the bottle. The fruit was harvested in the second half of August, with a spot-on sugar-acid balance making for the classic style which is the hallmark of our Chardonnay.

As always, this bottling is a blend of Chardonnay from our Estate vineyards (58%) and our Domaine Eden property (42%). Produced in the same cave with the same methods of barrel-fermentation, sur-lie aging and no finning as we do with our Estate wine, the one key difference is the absence of new oak. It is sure to be enjoyable for at least the next seven years.

Production

1,520

Tech Notes

Yield: 2.0 tons per acre

Harvest: August 15th - 24th

Numbers @ Harvest: 23.0° Brix, 3.5 pH, 8.0 grams acidity

Barrel Regimen: French Burgundy-1-3 years; aged 11 months in barrel, sur-lie; 100% malolactic fermentation

Bottling: July 2015

Alcohol: 13.5%

Reviews

92 points JebDunnuck.com - August 24, 2017

Showing a deep gold color, the 2014 Chardonnay (57% declassified Mount Eden Fruit, aged 10 months in 35% new barrels) offers lots of orchard fruits and buttered citrus, terrific minerality and reductive notes, medium-bodied richness and a silky texture. It has bright acidity, and while it doesn’t quite have the balance and finesse of the Mount Eden Chardonnay releases, it is a terrific Chardonnay.

92 points Wine Enthusiast Magazine - November 2017

Grapefruit rind, yogurt, sour cream and warm pear show on the nose of this bottling. There is great acidity on the sip, with a mango cream and tropical fruit touch, but those elements coalesce into a rich, roasted-almond-driven palate as the wine breathes. —M.K.

90 points Wine Spectator - November 15, 2017

Spicy, toasty oak adds a rich dimension to a core of citrus, apple, melon and pear flavors, staying on point, with a mix of wood and fruit. Drink now. 1,520 cases made.–JL

89 points Antonio Galloni presents Vinous - August 31, 2017

The 2014 Chardonnay is a deep, intriguing wine. Orange peel, honeysuckle, chamomile, honey and roasted almond notes all give the 2014 Chardonnay a decidedly extroverted feel. Readers should expect an intense, phenolic style with plenty of structure. If opened young, the 2014 needs quite a bit of air for some of the reduction to blow off. If that reduction dissipates in bottle, the 2014 might merit a slightly more positive note.