Winemaker Notes
Pale straw in color with striking purity and a green hue, 2015 Mountain Estate Chardonnay boasts remarkable balance between ripe, opulent fruit and delicate acidity. Intense aromas of ripe pear, flowering jasmine and crème brulee are followed by flavors of Meyer lemon and marzipan. This idyllic combination leads to a clean finish, highlighting mountain minerality and begging for another sip!
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
This has very succulent, ripe-peach and tropical-fruit style with a rich swathe of fleshy, soft yet fresh fruit at the finish. Bold and approachable.
-
Vinous
The 2015 Chardonnay Mountain Estate Vineyard has aged impeccably. Tangerine oil, marzipan, white flowers and a kiss of French oak are nicely lifted. The Mountain Estate Chardonnay is fascinating to taste next to the Whitney's Chardonnay, as it was filtered, while the Whitney's was not. Although not an exact apples-to-apples comparison, the Mountain Estate is quite a bit fresher. Of course, some of that may also have to do with its south-facing aspect, soils and clones. Even so, the 2015 has reached its tenth birthday in grand style.
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.
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.