Tangley Oaks Central Coast Chardonnay 2008
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These lot numbers are printed on the bottles of Tangley Oaks wines, and are a testament to the true expression of the grape varietal, the vintage and the appellation. In short, they indicate the wine is the very best of the vintage. During the winemaking process, Tangley Oaks winemakers follow all the time-honored methods until they reach a critical point. This is when the Tangley Oaks winemakers must select the lots — representing the absolute best parcels from the vineyards that are worthy of bottling.
Each member of the Tangley Oaks winemaking team tastes through each lot, carefully assessing the fruit, balance and tannins. This process is repeated for every varietal. Only when the winemaking team fully agrees on the one lot that best represents the varietal, appellation and vintage is the lot number chosen. This is the only way to select the best quality wines for the most discriminating palates.
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.