Mount Eden Vineyards Estate Chardonnay 2012
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Winemaker Notes
The 2012 Estate Chardonnay is very youthful with classic Mount Eden flavors of lemon and hazelnuts. The finish is long and complex which gives high expectation for a 20 plus year life span.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Jeffrey Patterson has been making vivid, intense, ageworthy wines from this vineyard since 1981 and it consistently produces fantastic, Burgundian-style Chardonnays. Barrel-fermented, aged in 50% new French oak, on the lees, the 2012 is striking and very classy, with aromas of lemon oil, deep mineral notes, and an amazingly long finish. Domaine Eden Chardonnay, the second wine, is a true bargain.
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Wine Spectator
Spicy, toasty, aromatic oak offers an enticing start, with a fresh, vibrant core of lemon-lime, lemon curd, white peach and stone fruit that is very tight, dense, focused and persistent. Ends with a juicy Key lime aftertaste. Drink now through 2029.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
One of the great Chardonnays in the world that some may have forgotten, the 2012 Mount Eden Chardonnay is made so traditionally and it tastes that way. Full malo allows the wine's creaminess to express itself in the most natural way possible. This wine is so special that it has to be considered iconic. Medium straw, yellow color; intense and alluring aromas of hazelnut, crème brûlée and sweet apples; medium bodied, multi-layered on the palate; dry, medium acidity, well balanced; concentrated ripe apples and sweet crème in the flavors; long finish, lusty aftertaste. Drinking pretty well now, will absolutely improve with some time in the cellar. (Tasted: August 24, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pure class, the 2012 Chardonnay Estate (barrel fermented and aged in equal parts new and 1-2 year old barrels) sports a light gold color to go with classic apple blossom, crushed rock, white flowers and vanilla cream-like aromas and flavors. Rich, full and textured on the palate, yet with vibrant acidity, it's clean and classy through the finish, and has impressive depth of fruit and length. It's enjoyable now and I suspect it will evolve nicely as well.
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Mount Eden Vineyards is a small historic wine estate perched at 2000 feet overlooking Silicon Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountain Appellation, about 50 miles south of San Francisco. Founded in 1945, it is recognized as one of the original “boutique” California winery properties, focusing on small lots of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Mount Eden’s lineage of estate bottled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is the longest in California. Planted in austere, infertile Franciscan shale on a cool, exposed mountaintop, these low-yielding estate vineyards have consistently produced world-class wines for over a half-century. In 2007 Mount Eden acquired an additional 55 acre wine estate in the Saratoga foothills, which was christened Domaine Eden.
Mount Eden Vineyards also produces non-estate Chardonnays from the central coast, primarily Edna Valley. They have great success making Chardonnay from the Wolff Vineyard and are continually recognized as making outstanding wines from that region.
Since 1981 Jeffrey Patterson has guided the winemaking and grape growing at Mount Eden. His emphasis is on wine growing rather than winemaking; and an obsession with gentleness and naturalness in the handling of the grapes and wines is his ongoing passion.
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.
A rugged and topographically diverse cool-climate appellation with a rich history, the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA stretches from Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco, to the northern border of Monterey County. Elevations range from 800 feet to upwards of 3,000 and microclimates vary substantially depending on which side of the mountains the vineyards lie; cool ocean winds and fog play an important role here. This can be a challenging region in which to grow grapes, but it is well worth the effort. Santa Cruz Mountains wines are noted for balanced acidity levels, often showing great aging potential. Wine has been made here since the 1800s, most notably from the legendary Ridge Vineyards, whose Monte Bello vineyard garners international admiration.
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the stars of this region, while Merlot and Zinfandel also perform quite well. Organic and sustainable vineyard practices are becoming increasingly common.