Testarossa Sierra Madre Chardonnay 2009
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There's lots of sweet, smoky oak on this Chardonnay, with caramel and buttered toast flavors, but the underlying fruit is so massive, it easily handles that weight. Explodes in ripe pineapple and peach jam flavors, balanced with crisp acidity, like a squirt of lime. A really good wine for drinking now with serious fare.
Testarossa Vineyards, located in the historic 19th century Novitiate winery of Los Gatos, was founded in 1993 by husband and wife team of Rob and Diana Jensen. The name Testarossa (Italian for "red-head") was a nickname given to Rob Jensen when he was a university student in Italy. It was there, also, that the Jensens further developed their passion for good food and wine. The Jensens are dedicated to making small lots of vineyard desgnated wines from only the best vineyards in the cool, ocean-influenced counties of Monterey, Santa Barbara and Sonoma.
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.