Winemaker Notes
2015 was a classic low yield - high concentration vintage. The soils at this vineyard promote acidity in the grapes and the north and east facing terraces slow the ripening down. We gently whole cluster press the Chardonnay to tank where we settle it overnight before racking to barrel. It usually takes about a week for the fermentations to begin spontaneously, and then several more weeks for them to complete. The long and cool fermentation helps preserve the floral aromatics of the Chardonnay. Aged on the lees and then racked to a stainless tank where it spends another five months before bottling. We find that finishing the wine in stainless helps to tighten and focus the wine. We bottle without fining or filtration. The wine will open up when decanted, and should age gracefully for ten plus years.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Leading off with two whites and coming from a higher elevation site (2,300 feet above sea level) in the Gabilan Mountains, east of Monterey, the 2015 Chardonnay Coastview Vineyard (100% Chardonnay aged 12 months in 25% new barrels) is rock-solid and offers notes of white peach, citrus peel, matchstick and green herbs. With medium-bodied richness, good acidity, plenty of depth and a clean finish, it will improve with a year or two and keep for a decade or more.
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.
At elevations reaching well over 2,000 feet, the Mt. Harlan AVA in the Gabilan Range is an anomaly among its surrounding Central Coast appellations. Recognizing the splendor of the area and its ideal limestone-rich soils, Josh Jensen chose Mt. Harlan as the home of his Calera Wine Company in the 1970s. Awarded his own AVA in 1990, Calera is the only commercial winery in the appellation.