Winemaker Notes
Both fresh and exotic, the MAXEM Chardonnay has a sense of focus and intensity. The wine is rich and plush, but with flinty and lime zest tones for balance. Pineapple, honeysuckle, citrus aromatics and white peach are present in this medium to full-bodied wine; lively with vibrant acidity and a crystal clean finish. This UV Vineyard fruit is 100% Old Wente clone, planted less than six miles from the Pacific Ocean where the maritime influences surround the entire area with warm, sun-dappled afternoons refreshed by cool ocean breezes. Truly, these conditions are the perfect combination to capture the best, most exquisite Chardonnay California has to offer! Fermented in a combination of new French oak barrels and concrete tanks and then aged for 15 months, the wine displays great intensity and focus. Only 250 cases produced. This elegant wine should drink beautifully for 5-7 years, possibly longer.
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesBarrel Sample: 94-96
In Latin, MAXEM has the distinction of meaning “best of the best.” It also combines the names of the owner’s two children, Max and Emma. With the iconic Ulises Valdez Vineyard as their source on the Sonoma Coast, Sam and Nancy Kaplan make Pinot Noir from the historical Calera clone and Chardonnay from the equally acclaimed Wente clone. Sam is a highly regarded winemaker; Nancy a professional chef with her laser palate, has an equal say. MAXEM wines represent some on the most exciting wines produced in California today and have received rave reviews from the wine industries top journalists.
The grapes lend themselves to the style of wines Sam & Nancy both love: exquisitely balanced with bright acids and high tones yet richly textured and possessing full depth of flavor. After nearly two decades of helping others fulfil their dreams, “Now it’s our turn”. They have been lucky to work with some of the best in the business. Sam, in his winemaking career, has been on the ground floor of some of Napa Valley’s most exciting wine projects in recent history, helping to plant vineyards, build wineries and cement reputations with wines that speak of the unparalleled sites in which they’re grown. Nancy, as a chef, spent years in top restaurants in New York and Napa Valley, honing her craft and her palate beside celebrated chefs who demanded nothing less than perfection. The result is that MAXEM crafts top quality, site specific wines in very small amounts.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.
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.