Tasting Notes

Release Date: Spring 2020

2017 was a beautiful vintage across all of our wines, Chardonnay included. A long growing season due to mild temperatures in the summer gave the wine full maturity and complexity.

Barrel-fermented in our mountain cave, the composition of this wine is 64% Domaine Eden fruit and 36% Mount Eden Estate fruit. A departure from earlier vintages where Mount Eden fruit was the majority, this shift has created a more approachable Chardonnay with aromas of honeysuckle blossom, gunflint and lemon zest dance on the nose. On the palate, impressions of lemon custard and loamy earth are pervasive on the long finish.

Expect further development in the bottle for another ten years.

Production

1,942

Tech Notes

Yield: 2.5 tons per acre

Harvest: September 11th-14th

Numbers @ Harvest: 23.5° Brix, 3.425 pH, 8.0 grams acidity

Barrel Regimen: French Burgundy-1-5 years; aged 10 months in barrel, sur-lie; 100% malolactic fermentation

Bottling: July 2018

Alcohol: 14%

Reviews

92 points Wine Enthusiast Magazine - November 2020

Tangerine rind, light walnut and a hint of lanolin show on the nose of this bottling, always a unique and classic take on the region’s Chardonnay. Lemon-balm, grapefruit-peel and light sourdough-toast flavors grab hold of the palate, balancing sour and rich elements, with loads of lingering acidity. —M.K.

92 points Antonio Galloni presents Vinous - September 9, 2020

The 2017 Chardonnay is absolutely gorgeous. Apricot, tangerine oil, butter and light tropical accents give the 2017 striking exotic character that match its rich oily personality so well. This is a decidedly extroverted wine from Domaine Eden, but it all works so well. There is a feeling of immediacy and allure that makes the 2017 impossible to resist. The Domaine Eden Chardonnay is a blend of declassified barrels (64%) and lots from the Domaine Eden property itself (36%), aged in 2-5 year old wood.

92 points Robert Parker Jr's The Wine Advocate - February 2021, Week 1

The 2017 Chardonnay from Domaine Eden is a blend of 64% Domaine Eden fruit and 36% Mount Eden estate fruit. The nose is driven by ripe orchard fruits with earthy accents of hay, almonds and beeswax. The palate is silky with plush fruit lit up by a mineral streak and bright acidity, and it finishes long and uplifted. —E. B