Winemaker Notes
This release shows vivid tropical aromas of pineapple, lemon zest and apricot. Bright acidity and lush citrus provide the backdrop for juicy tropical avors, while fresh, clean mineral notes punctuate the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Here's a classically rich, barrel-aged Chardonnay. with a beautiful golden color, it brims with pineapple, golden mango and lemon custard flavors, enhanced with bright, citrusy acidity. Very fine and classy, at a great price.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
More tropical aromas of pineapples, orange marmalade and honeysuckle jump from the glass of the 2009 Chardonnay Monterey. Fifty percent of this cuvee was put through malolactic fermentation and it came in under 14% alcohol, not unusual in a cool year such as 2009. It exhibits abundant fruit, medium body, good depth and a seductive style. Enjoy it over the next several years.
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.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.