Winemaker Notes
A deliciously pure blend of 45% Pisoni and 55% Soberanes vineyards, the 2017 Lucia Chardonnay exhibits both power and elegance. Generous notes from Pisoni Vineyards combine with lemon curd, peach, baking spice, Golden Delicious apple. These aromas intertwine with layered richness and an expansive palate. Soberanes stakes its claim with hints of crushed rock and orange blossom, culminating harmoniously with a seamless, long, and textured finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Starting with the two Chardonnays, the 2017 Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands is a winner and well worth seeking out. White peach, white flowers, a touch of lemon zest, and some brioche all flow to a medium-bodied, rounded, textured effort that has terrific purity and freshness yet packs plenty of fruit.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay SLH has a gregarious nose of baked red and Golden delicious apples, banana peel, quince and peach with notes of toast, smoke, hay, honey and lemon cream. Medium-bodied with intense tropical and stone fruit layers with honey-nut accents, it's creamy and rounded, refreshed by mouthwatering acidity and finishing long and energetic with pleasant texture. Lovely!
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Wine Enthusiast
Pleasantly strong aromas of chalk meet with lemon blossom on the impressively delicate nose of this appellation blend from the Pisoni family. There is great tension to the sip, where a chalky grip surrounds flavors of white peach, pineapple and light oak.
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Wine Spectator
Creamy and rich, with a zesty backbone to the ripe white fruit and spice flavors. Buttery pastry notes emerge on the finish. Drink now through 2023.
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.
Perhaps the most highly regarded appellation within Monterey County, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA benefits from a combination of warm morning sunshine and brisk afternoon breezes, allowing grapes to ripen slowly and fully. The result is concentrated, flavorful wines that retain their natural acidity. Wineries here do not shy away from innovation, and place a high priority on sustainable viticultural practices.
The climatic conditions here are perfectly suited to the production of ripe, rich Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. These Burgundian varieties dominate an overwhelming percentage of plantings, though growers have also found success with Syrah, Riesling and Pinot Gris.