Winemaker Notes
This wine has notes of citrus and lemon curd with a crisp, mineral-like finish. It can be enjoyed with your favorite fish, shellfish, poultry, pork, or dishes that have a cream or butter base.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Chardonnay Trout Gulch Vineyard is racy, crisp and mineral-driven, as wines from this site typically are. This feels particularly steely despite aging for ten months in neutral French Oak. Cooling acidity rushes through like a gale on the open ocean, leaving a caking of crystallized sea salt atop mounds of barely ripe tropical fruit. Lemon zest lifts the finish.
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.