Winemaker Notes
Pair this Pinot Blanc along with a spice-rubbed pork loin, warm applesauce, and mashed potatoes for a real treat!
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
With a nose of buttered croissants from the Chalone Bench of the Gavilan Mountains 1,800 feet above sea level, dusty peach skins and pear juice make a significant sensory start. Vanilla and white flowers are some of the tonal qualities that alight on the limestone-salty frame.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
One of the longest standing and rarest offerings of this grape variety in the New World, the 2014 Chalone Estate Pinot Blanc offers ripe fruit and a smooth layer on the palate. The wine's flavor ties to Burgundy and roundness in its aftertaste pair it well with a savory-spiced pork tenderloin. (Tasted: November 16, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
Exotic yellow-spice notes meet with lean lime pith on the light and crisp nose of this old-vine expression from a historic winery. Meyer-lemon rind and juice show brightly on the palate, where grippy chalkiness complements rich lemon-curd flavors.
The Chalone Estate Vineyard is one of the most remarkable winery properties in California, and the sole winery within the Chalone AVA. The vineyard was planted in 1919, with the production under the Chalone Vineyard brand beginning in 1960.
Chalone wines speak to the unique terroir of this wild, isolated and high-elevation mountain plateau in Monterey County, located adjacent to the Pinnacles National Monument. The wines reflect a unique character that is attributed to the area’s granitic and limestone soils as well as the large daily diurnal shifts, ultimately resulting in wines with distinct minerality and balance between ripe fruit character and bright acidity.
Approachable, aromatic and pleasantly plush on the palate, Pinot Blanc is a white grape variety most associated with the Alsace region of France. Although its heritage is Burgundian, today it is rarely found there and instead thrives throughout central Europe, namely Germany and Austria, where it is known as Weissburgunder and Alto Adige where it is called Pinot Bianco. Interestingly, Pinot Blanc was born out of a mutation of the pink-skinned Pinot Gris. Somm Secret—Chardonnay fans looking to try something new would benefit from giving Pinot Blanc a try.
Located in the Gabilan Mountains east of the fertile Salinas Valley, Chalone is named for the nearby Chalone peaks and produces fine Chardonnay and Pinot noir, among others.