StoneCap Chardonnay 2009
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On the lighter side, offering pretty floral overtones to the lime and apple flavors. Finishes with a refreshing lilt.
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2012-
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StoneCap wines are handcrafted entirely from estate grown grapes from the renowned Goose Ridge Estate Vineyard in Washington's Columbia Valley. This expansive and highly regarded vineyard allows the Monson Family to produce stunning quality wines that are sensibly priced.
Washington State's famed Columbia Valley produces extraordinary grapes in large part due to the area's great soils—the result of massive flooding during the last Ice Age. Light and porous, these soils are frequently wind-blown, and the windy tops of the many high hills and ridgelines of the region are typically devoid of soil leaving a "stonecap" of rocks behind.
The Monson family has been farming the Columbia Valley for over four decades and developed Goose Ridge Vineyard in 1999 under the guidance of Dr. Walter Clore, the "father" of the Washington wine industry. The Monsons, along with veteran winemaker Kendall Mix, are dedicated to limited production, handcrafted wine and meticulous vineyard practices.
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 large and geographically diverse AVA capable of producing a wide variety of wine styles, the Columbia Valley AVA is home to 99% of Washington state’s total vineyard area. A small section of the AVA even extends into northern Oregon!
Because of its size, it is necessarily divided into several distinctive sub-AVAs, including Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley—which are both further split into smaller, noteworthy appellations. A region this size will of course have varied microclimates, but on the whole it experiences extreme winters and long, hot, dry summers. Frost is a common risk during winter and spring. The towering Cascade mountain range creates a rain shadow, keeping the valley relatively rain-free throughout the entire year, necessitating irrigation from the Columbia River. The lack of humidity combined with sandy soils allows for vines to be grown on their own rootstock, as phylloxera is not a serious concern.
Red wines make up the majority of production in the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety here, where it produces wines with a pleasant balance of dark fruit and herbs. Wines made from Merlot are typically supple, with sweet red fruit and sometimes a hint of chocolate or mint. Syrah tends to be savory and Old-World-leaning, with a wide range of possible fruit flavors and plenty of spice. The most planted white varieties are Chardonnay and Riesling. These range in style from citrus and green apple dominant in cooler sites, to riper, fleshier wines with stone fruit flavors coming from the warmer vineyards.