Cattleya Wines Cuvee Number Five Chardonnay 2018
Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesStarting with the 2018 Chardonnay Cuvee Number Five, which comes all from the Sonoma Coast, this medium-hued effort offers a rich yet also fresh nose of stone fruits, honeyed minerality, Meyer lemons, and citrus pith. Still young and unevolved, with medium to full-bodied richness and bright acidity, it’s a beautiful wine that needs 2-3 years of bottle age and will drink nicely over the following decade. Rating: 93+
A fresh, fruity chardonnay with just a hint of vanilla and cream. Medium body. Attractive, creamy texture. Refined and intense. Delicious finish. Finesse.
The 2018 Chardonnay Cuvée Number Five is slow to open on the nose, giving up baker's yeast, poached apples, acacia and almonds, then revealing honeyed notions with time. The medium-bodied palate has savory fruits, yeasty accents and a honey-nut finish.
In her words: Since my early teenage years, my dream has been to make wine.
At a very young age I was fortunate enough to begin learning how to make wine in France. I trained myself while working with some amazing winemakers who showed me the importance of loving the land, how to respect the farming itself, and to focus on the many details that go into making each drop of wine in each and every bottle.
While studying in Bordeaux and Cognac I learned the required viticulture, enology and microbiology (“wine science”); but most importantly, I was also exposed to the many rituals involved in winemaking–things like pruning, harvesting and bottling–that feel so special and meaningful each season. I told myself that one day a bottle of wine would be infused with the longings of my soul through fruit produced from a specific terroir that spoke to my heart. That place I have found.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.
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.