Tasting Notes

Release Date: Fall 2011

This is our 25th year making Chardonnay from this vineyard, a long standing record in Edna Valley

Every year, every wine has a story to tell and the tale of the 2009 was extremely low yields from the Wolff Vineyard; the combination of vine age (30 plus years) and a three year drought gave us just over one ton per acre. Not so good for the grower; yet incredible concentration, tension and terrior-driven minerality in the fruit for the consumer.

True to form, aromas of grapefruit and guava, with oak and earth in the background and mouthwatering acidity, are the first impressions on the palate. Restrained flavors of pineapple, pear and honeysuckle are persistent with moderate richness.

This is what Josh Reynolds of the International Wine Cellar has to say about this wine…

Pale yellow. Musky, powerfully scented aromas of orchard fruits, smoky lees, truffle and iodine; smells like a top-notch Chassagne. Weighty and round but sharply focused, offering fresh pear, peach, tangerine and buttered toast flavors. The iodine element returns on the long, smoky finish. Lots going on here, especially for the price.

Production

8,078

Tech Notes

Yield: 2.1 tons per acre (120 tons purchased)

Harvest: September 7th-October 19th

Numbers @ Harvest: 22.1° Brix, 3.42 pH, 9.0 grams acidity

Barrel Regimen: 1/2 French & 1/2 American Oak- new to 5 years 100% Barrel Fermented; 100% Malolactic; 100% sur-lie

Bottling: July 2010

Alcohol: 13.4%

Reviews

91 points Steve Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar - May/June 2011

Pale yellow.  Musky, powerfully scented aromas of orchard fruits, smoky lees, truffle and iodine; smells like a top-notch Chassagne.  Weighty and round but sharply focused, offering fresh pear, peach, tangerine and buttered toast flavors.  The iodine element returns on the long, smoky finish.  Lots going on here, especially for the price.

90 points Robert Parker Jr's The Wine Advocate - August 2011

Issue #196

The Mount Eden 2009 Chardonnay Wolff Vineyard is an attractive, entry-level white with lovely varietal fruit and an open, accessible personality. The wine was aged in neutral oak. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2014.