Winemaker Notes
The Luli Chardonnay was fermented in 60% stainless steel, and 40% neutral oak barrels. The stainless steel keeps the aromatics pure and the acid crisp. The neutral barrels give the mineral notes and a greater texture component. Malo-lactic fermentation was prevented to preserve the bright aromatics.
Bright gold/green in color, the 2008 Luli has a very sexy and exotic nose of stone fruits, mango and candied lemon. The texture broadens out and displays a mineral core, followed by mouth-watering acidity that evolves into a long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a small project owned Jeff Pisoni, the 2008 Chardonnay is a tropical fruit, nectarine, lemon oil, and pineapple-scented beauty displaying fresh acids, orange marmalade flavors, and good length. Drink this lovely white wine 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.