Saracina Vineyards Unoaked Chardonnay 2012
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This is an exceptional value for a wine this well-made. Honeycomb, pear and quince notes are complete and clean, with bright layers of unbaked fruit that linger long on the palate. This Chardonnay offers freshness and purity of flavor making it a great apéritif wine or versatile with a wide range of foods.
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Saracina Vineyards is a 400-acre winery estate located in Mendocino County. The winery and vineyards are Certified California Sustainable (“CSWA”) and home to a tasting room, a 140-year-old olive grove, vegetable gardens, beehives, alpacas, and all manner of bird and wild animal life.
Saracina’s location in Hopland is close to the southern border of Mendocino County, along the head waters of the Russian River. This area is a 90-minute drive north of San Francisco, and 30 miles north of the town of Healdsburg, in northern Sonoma County.
Winemaker Alex MacGregor joined John Fetzer, the original founder of Saracina Vineyards, in 2002, and has been making Saracina’s wines ever since. As a result of Alex’s commitment to quality, strong ties to the community, and long-standing grower relationships, Saracina Vineyards has been regarded as one of the most consistent wine producers in Mendocino County. And in 2018, Marc D. Taub took on stewardship of the Saracina Estate & Vineyards, upholding the spirit of family legacy that has defined this iconic Mendocino winery since inception.
The handcrafted, limited-production Saracina Vineyards wines reflect a conscious sense of this beautiful place in Mendocino County.
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.
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.