Winemaker Notes
A tribute and testament to the vineyard's natural setting as well as its meticulous farmed Chardonnay vines. This offering was whole-cluster pressed, barrel fermented on native yeasts, and aged in 100% French oak barrels (18% new) for 10 months. This well-balanced Chardonnay went through 100% Malolactic fermentation with battonage twice per month for 6 months.
Blend: 100% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This just takes off at the finish, with bright, tangy acidity and plenty of minerality. Full-bodied and so tangy and energetic. Fantastic chardonnay. Hints of aniseed and flint. Grows in the glass.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Chardonnay Estate sports a medium gold hue to go with a gorgeous nose of white peach, stone fruits, honeysuckle, and toasted bread. Beautifully balanced, elegant, and with plenty of sweet fruit and great acidity, this is a killer Chardonnay I'd be thrilled to drink.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Eden Rift Vineyards Estate Chardonnay is remarkable and authentic. TASTING NOTES: This wine excels with aromas and flavors of fresh earth notes, ripe apples, and dried leaves. Pair it with a savory fish stew with accents of green peppercorns. (Tasted: June 17, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Chardonnay Estate has inviting aromas of spiced apples, toast and dried flowers with a honeyed undercurrent. The palate is medium-bodied, bright, textural and nutty with a long, mineral-laced finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Salty lemon- and orange-peel aromas meet with grippy chalk and the hint of stuck match on the nose of this bottling. There is a stony quality to the sip, where lime-pith and seared orange-slice flavors arise.
Named one of Wine & Spirits Magazines Top 100 Wineries of 2023
In the careful hands of early pioneers when California was still under Mexico’s flag, Eden Rift is one of the oldest continually operating estates in the US and is home to some of the earliest New World Pinot Noir plantings in 1861. The property’s first vineyards were planted in 1849 by a Bordeaux wine merchant. As the estate came into new ownership, the wines produced swept national and international competitions. Since then, the estate has changed hands several times, at one point producing wines under the label Valliant, belonging to the internationally known Hiram Walker House.
Today, the current proprietor of the estate, Christian Pillsbury, lives in the Dickinson House, a residence on the property fenced in by original Zinfandel plantings from 1906. Drawn to purchase the estate because of a personal connection, Pillsbury sees himself as chaperone of a place deeply important to the lineage of California wine. Before purchasing, Christian and his team researched the property’s daily temperature rhythms, soil, wind patterns and macro and micro climates to find the winery’s main focus, which has come to be Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In addition to wine, the Eden Rift Estate also houses a granite stone mill that produces certified organic olive oil and is open to neighboring wineries for use on their own olive oil production.
With Christian’s vision in toe, he teamed up with venerable winemaker, Cory Waller. Cory is no stranger to American Pinot Noir, having studied under Napa’s Tony Soter and Oregon’s Josh Bergstrom and Jim Prosser. He was also assistant winemaker at the iconic California winery, Calera. Cory is well suited to the uber local project. Born and raised nearby, he boasts local farmers, ranchers and fishermen as some of his closest friends. His winemaking style limits intervention while focusing in the vineyard on vine stress and low yields. Since Christian’s purchase, Eden Rift has received attention from both local and National publications in its first two vintages.
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.
Part of the larger Central Coast AVA, the valley was historically an important source of grapes for Almaden Vineyards before it was acquired by Constellation Brands in the 1980s. At 1,100 feet, the San Andreas Fault divides the valley so that one side is granite and sandstone, and the other is granite and limestone. Its position along the San Andreas fault makes the region well suited for excellent Central Coast wine production. Top varietals include Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and rose.