Iron Horse Estate Chardonnay 2012
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Our Estate Chardonnay is a classic food wine - roasted cauliflower and cannellini bean salad, thyme-roasted chicken with buttermilk-mashed potatoes and a salad of baby greens, smoky ham and corn chowder. Salmon rillettes on buttered brioche would be a perfect hors d'oeuvre.
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This estate Chardonnay is keeping stylistically with the winery's other offerings, though a tad weightier and richer in oak and crème brulee. Fresh peach, pineapple and anise intermingle on the palate, with a silky yet complex texture. There is a palate-refreshing hint of lime on the finish.
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Wine & Spirits
David Munksgard prevents malolactic conversion in this barrel-fermented chardonnay to achieve a wine driven by brisk acidity. It carries the spice of fresh grape skins, while lees add a savory counterpoint, like toasted rice. It’s primal chardonnay, restrained and clean. For oysters on the half shell.
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Iron Horse is best known for its Sparkling Wines, which have been served at the White House since 1985, beginning with the historic U.S.-Russian Summit Meetings ending the Cold War, at the White House Millennium celebrations ushering in the new century, and at the White House dinner honoring the Pope.
Their Chardonnay is considered a signature wine for the cool, foggy Green Valley region. Pinot Noir is the winery's rising star wine.
Iron Horse has been named an American icon in a reference book published by Random House called "Icons of the American Market Place". Listed in alphabetical order, Iron Horse takes its place between iPod and Jack Daniel’s, validating Iron Horse’s reputation as a brand backed by pride, passion and quality.
The Iron Horse name came from a train that cut across the property in the 1890s. The logo, the rampant horse on a weather vane, came from a 19th century weathervane found while clearing away the rubble to build the winery.
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.
Situated on the foggier and colder western edge of the Russian River Valley, almost abutting the Sonoma Coast appellation, Green Valley is one of California’s most reputable Chardonnay and Pinot noir producing regions. It is also a wonderful source of sparkling wines made from these varieties.
Goldridge soils abound throughout the Green Valley appellation. This fine, dark, sandy loam and fractured sandstone is derived from the remains of ancient inland seabeds dating back three to five million years. It is valuable for high quality grape growing because of its excellent drainage and low fertility.