Carpe Diem Firepeak Vineyard Chardonnay 2003
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Carpe Diem wines are crafted by two world-renowned winemaking teams, using select grapes from two distinct California appellations: Anderson Valley for pinot noir and chardonnay, and Napa Valley for cabernet sauvignon.
Vinified under the meticulous supervision of the Roederer winemaking team, the philosophy behind Carpe Diem’s Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is to offer the best of two worlds: the richness of California fruit and the elegance of a French wine.
Carpe Diem launched its Napa Cabernet Sauvignon with the 2005 vintage, vinified by Christian Moueix‘s expert winemaking team in Yountville, California. Carpe Diem Cabernet embodies the essence of finely balanced Napa Valley classic cabernet sauvignon made in a traditional style.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.