Winemaker Notes
A varietally pure Chardonnay from a collection of quality sites the Submarine Canyon Monterey Chardonnay is Joyce Vineyards' true village or regional style wine with a lighter medium bodied palate that highlights the cool marine influences of the area with plush layers of fresh apple, pear, melon, peach and lemon fruits along with a hint of clove, salty freshness, honeysuckle, bright tropical essences and refined mineral tones along with a barest minimum of subtle oak toast and yeasty tones. A workhorse Chardonnay that plays well in every situation and with a golden hue and a graceful presence in the glass.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Clean aromas of apple, ripe melon and almost-sweet cucumber converge on the nose of this wine. The palate shows immediate acidity and holds firm with a long-lasting texture, framing white flower, Asian pear and citrus pith flavors.
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.
A geographic and climatic paradise for grape vines, Monterey is a part of the greater Central Coast AVA and contains within it five smaller sub-appellations, including Arroyo Seco, San Lucas, San Bernabe, Hames Valley and the famous Santa Lucia Highlands. The climate is relatively warm but tempered by cool, coastal winds, allowing the regions in Monterey County an exceptionally long growing season. Bud break often happens two weeks sooner and harvest tends to be two weeks later compared to other surrounding regions.
Monterey’s coastal side, where the cooling ocean fog allows grapes to develop a perfect sugar-acid balance, excels in the production of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Warmer, inland subzones are home to fleshy, concentrated and full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel.
Chardonnay, covering about 40% of vineyard acreage, is the most widely planted grape in all of Monterey County.