Winemaker Notes
Vibrant and inviting, this wine captures the essence of Chardonnay grown on the cool, windswept Central Coast. Aromas of jasmine, vanilla bean, and passion fruit rise from the glass revealing this wine’s youthful charm. On the beautifully fruit-driven palate, layers of green apple, grapefruit, and pineapple are framed by subtle oak and a refreshing acidity that carry the flavors to a bright, focused finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose of this wine is sharp and precise in tones of chalk, tangerine cream, dried lemon and crushed nuts. There’s a strong mineral quality through the entire palate that accents flavors of lemon juice and yellow pear. Editors’ Choice.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: One of the class wines from the Central Coast has been the Calera Chardonnay. The 2016 vintage shows why this is so. TASTING NOTES: This wine shows excellent energy and substance. Its aromas and flavors of ripe apples, cloves, and oak should make it a delightful pairing partner with roast duck in its natural juices. (Tasted: October 17, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
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.