Winemaker Notes
Focused, fresh and bright. The 2018 Skycrest Vineyard Chardonnay offers a complex mix of citrus, tropical and stone fruit that can only be achieved from this elevation. The unique blend of white peach, papaya, lemon tart and floral aromas blend seamlessly into a light and fresh palate of Cara Cara Orange, almond and hints of ground ginger. The acidity is lazer focused throughout the wine and highlights the incredible texture and delightfully long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is a beauty, balancing a band of subtle flavors with a polished texture and vibrant acidity that give it a lively presence on the palate and a lingering finish. Mild baking spices and toast in the aroma give way to baked apple and cream flavors that are delicious to linger over.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from the Anderson Valley, the 2018 Chardonnay Skycrest Vineyard offers lots of pear and Meyer lemon fruits as well as hints of toast and chalky minerality. Medium-bodied, it has bright, juicy acidity and the classic savory, mineral-laced style of this appellation.
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.
Surrounded by redwood forests and often blanketed in chilly, ocean fog, the Anderson Valley is one of California’s most picturesque appellations. During the growing season, moist, cool, late afternoon air flows in from the Pacific Ocean along the Navarro River and over the valley's golden, oak-studded hills. High and low temperatures can vary as much as 40 or 50 degrees within a single day, allowing for slow and gentle ripening of grapes, which will in turn create elegantly balanced wines.
The Anderson Valley is best known for Pinot Noir made in a range of styles from delicate and floral to powerful and concentrated. Chardonnay also shines here, and both varieties are often utilized for the production of some of California’s best traditional method sparkling wines. The region also draws inspiration from Alsace and produces excellent Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.