Winemaker Notes
The grapes are whole cluster pressed, unsettled (a Burgundian tradition, like the weather), straight to Francois Freres small barrel for primary fermentation and malo-lactic, topped once a week by hand, sur lie, and bottled after a careful fining and no filtration. All of the French wood is neutral.
This wine is fruit driven, lees enhanced, texturally sophisticated, balanced, bright, complex, and concentrated from yields under 3 ton per acre. Remember when Chardonnay had stone fruit (not tropical), firm acidity, brightness, earthiness, minerality, and no vestige of heaviness? Au Bon Climat certainly does! Here is your alternative. Chardonnay is not an aromatic variety, it needs wood and lees, but can be vinified in an elegant, fresh, and food friendly fashion.
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.