Winemaker Notes
The 2022 Sierra Mar Chardonnay exhibits elegant aromas highlighted by a leesy complexity with toasted oak notes. The pallet shows intense white peach with hints of tropical fruits and warm baking spices. This well-balanced wine lingers on the pallet and shows the richness and intensity of fruit grown in the Santa Lucia Highlands.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Chardonnay Sierra Mar Vineyard is a supple white, reflecting the site’s high elevation in its salivating acids and chalky minerality. Intensely flavored, the 2022 manages to avoid some of the heaviness that bogs down the other Chardonnays in this range. Pear, pastry cream, brioche, orange oil and hints of nutmeg ride through the finish. Once again, oak is a factor, but the integration is much more favorable than the other 2022 Chardonnays.
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Wine Enthusiast
This very bold and ripe style of Chardonnay starts with hazelnut, sea salt and lemon curd on the nose. The palate is suave and unctuous with marzipan, caramel and lemon peel flavors.
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.
Perhaps the most highly regarded appellation within Monterey County, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA benefits from a combination of warm morning sunshine and brisk afternoon breezes, allowing grapes to ripen slowly and fully. The result is concentrated, flavorful wines that retain their natural acidity. Wineries here do not shy away from innovation, and place a high priority on sustainable viticultural practices.
The climatic conditions here are perfectly suited to the production of ripe, rich Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. These Burgundian varieties dominate an overwhelming percentage of plantings, though growers have also found success with Syrah, Riesling and Pinot Gris.