Wine Enthusiast Awards our Single-Vineyard Chardonnays Editor's Choice & 94 Points
With the last of the Turkey and stuffing gone from the fridge, we find ourselves thinking about planning our next few meals - perhaps something lighter and fresher! Luckily our good friend Josh dropped off a gift of fresh Dungeness crabs and some Vermillion rockfish this morning so it looks like it will be fish chowder and picked crab for the next few meals. We look forward to eating local crab every November around the season opener and love pairing it with Sandar & Hem Chardonnay.
Speaking of Chardonnay, Matt Kettmann with the Wine Enthusiast Magazine just released very positive reviews across our wines with particularly glowing reviews of our 2018 Single Vineyard Chardonnays. Both Chardonnays received Editor Choice Awards and 94 point scores. In the name of science, we especially enjoy opening a bottle of each to compare and contrast the two chardonnays. We would love to hear the results of any such experiments you might conduct this season.
The Mindego Ridge Vineyard is near the town La Honda and with its steep rocky shale slope and strong maritime influence yields a wine that is “Chablis-like” with “Pristine aromas of chalk, lime blossom, yuzu sorbet and spearmint” and a “palate framed by a chalky tension and loaded with crushed oyster-shell flavors as well as underripe apricot, nectarine, and lemon rind”.
The Bruzzone Vineyard is near Scott’s Valley just a few miles from Monterey Bay and with its Marine Bench-derived Alluvial Soils yields a wine with “Clean lines of chamomile, freshly grated yuzu zest and light chalk show on the very precise and chiseled nose” and “chalky texture that surrounds white-peach and tart orange flavors”.
We would love to share these Chardonnays with you as we believe the Santa Cruz Mountains is a particularly brilliant region for Chardonnay. You can order a tasting 2,3, or 6 pack using the links below. The three and six-packs include our newly released 2019 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay which combines fruit from a number of our top sites including Mindego Ridge and Bruzzone and highlights the fresh exuberant side of chardonnay with high-toned floral and fruit notes.