Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Subtle aromatics of stone fruits, minty flowers, and honeysuckle emerge from the medium gold-hued 2024 Chardonnay. Clean and balanced on the palate, with medium body and a crisp, dry finish, it's another beautiful wine from this team and represents a solid value.
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James Suckling
The silky mouthfeel carries energetic yet nicely weighted flavors of yellow plums, melon, honeysuckle and citrus pith. A seam of minerals rides through the finish.
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Vinous
Rich and chock-full of sweet fruit, the 2024 Chardonnay (Santa Lucia Highlands) is a soft, easygoing, approachable white, but it lacks some of the vibrancy and brightness it can show in cooler vintages. Marzipan, lemon curd and ripe yellow peach form an attractive profile, fading away gently on the finish.
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.