Tasting Notes

Release Date: Fall 2013

2010 was a perfect growing year for Chardonnay on our mountain top. The winter was very cold and the rains persisted into early spring resulting in a three week delay of bud break. Although this may seem a little esoteric to many, bud break is the official start of the growing season and it can set the tone for the vintage.

With the late start, 2010 ripened into late September under cool autumnal skies. This is what created its specialness: the combination of a moderate yield and a cool, slow finish to complete development.

The style of this vintage is exactly what I desire: pale lemon color; subtle, complex aromas of bread yeast, lanolin, and gardenia flower. Penetrating yet light on the palate, this Chardonnay has a delicious combination of soil and leesy reduction flavors giving lift and interest. As always, a lengthy aftertaste indicates a long life in the wine cellar. Three years after harvest, the 2010 Estate Chardonnay is just starting to “kick in”. Time will tell but this might be one of our best vintages in the last ten years.

Production

1,932

Tech Notes

YIELD: 2.2 tons per acre HARVEST: September 22nd-October 5th NUMBERS @ HARVEST: 22.5 Brix, 3.43 pH, 7.5 grams acidity BARREL REGIMEN: French Oak 50% new; 50% one year 100% Barrel Fermented; 100% Malolactic; aged 10 months on the lees BOTTLING: July 2011 Alcohol: 14.2%

Reviews

95 points Antonio Galloni presents Vinous - July 2013

Mount Eden’s 2010 Chardonnay is stunning. Honeysuckle, tangerine, apricot, and crème brulee literally jump from the glass a vivid, exotic wine, the 2010 is constantly changing in the glass. Stylistically, the 2010 is a little richer than Mount Eden fans are used to, but all the elements are in the right place. The 2010 verges on the edge of tropical aromas and flavors that are quite rare for young Mount Eden Chardonnays. Ideally, the 2010 is best left alone for a few years to allow some of the baby fat to drop off. I imagine it will always be a bit on the exotic side.

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

Bright yellow-gold. A powerfully scented bouquet evokes Meyer lemon, poached pear, vanilla, smoky minerals and chamomile, with hints of anise and iodine emerging with aeration. Palate-staining orchard fruit and lemon curd flavors are deepened notes of candied fig and buttered toast while maintaining their energy. Closes on a smoky note, with excellent focus, breadth and sappy persistence

92 points YEARS BEST Wine & Spirits Magazine - October 2014

Panelist Eugenio Jardin praised this wine’s texture, seeing an appetizing and evolved character brought about by barrel fermentation and aging: “It was almost past the point of being oak; it’s what oak becomes.” With air the acidity of Chardonnay planted at 2,000 feet picks up where the oak leaves off, carrying seashell and honey tones in a broad and decadent beam of flavor.

91 points Connoisseur's Guide to California Wine - May 2014

Mount Eden hits the marks smartly in 2010 with this very deep, carefully-composed Chardonnay. It is concentrated and quite rich, yet it is exceptionally well-structured and still seems on the youthful side. It has great fruity presence but goes well beyond simple fruitiness in its reach with neatly juxtaposed elements of minerals, dusty soil, freshly baked bread and cautious oak spice as adjuncts to its ripe-apple motif. It is approaching its fourth birthday with lots in reserve, and it has the balance and serious substance of a wine that will improve for another half-decade or more

89 points Wine Spectator - July 2013

Sleek and understated, with delicate, detailed green apple, spice and light oak notes, ending with a mouthwatering, crushed-rock minerality. Best from 2014 through 2022.