Tech Notes
Yield: 1.5 tons per acre
Harvest: September 20th-29th
Numbers @ Harvest: 23.7° Brix, 3.30 pH, 8.7 grams acidity
Barrel Regimen: French Oak 75% new; 100% Barrel Fermented; 100% Malolactic; 10 months on the lees
Bottling: August 2012
Alcohol: 14.5%
Tasting Notes
Release Date: Fall 2014
For this vintage of Estate Chardonnay I will do something I rarely do, which is to sit back and let the critics describe the wine for you.
Here is Antonio Galloni, who formerly wrote for Robert Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate, and now has his own on-line publication Vinous:
Mount Eden’s 2011 Chardonnay is simply magnificent. Intense and tightly-coiled from the very first taste, the 2011 pulsates with energy, texture and pure class. Bright citrus, lemon oil, flowers and crushed rocks are all vivid in the glass, but it is the wine’s exceptional balance that stands out most. The long, vibrant finish is a thing of beauty. In 2011, winemaker Jeffrey Patterson did not make a Reserve, instead all of the juice went into the straight Chardonnay. Readers who want to understand why the Santa Cruz Mountains is one of the world’s great terroirs for Chardonnay should start here. Quite simply, the 2011 Chardonnay is a, reference-point for California. The only question is how long it will take to come around.
Drink 2018-2031–96 points
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