Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Bottled at the same time as the estate 2022, the 2021 Chardonnay Reserve sees more lees contact, aging on the lees in new and one-year-old French oak over 10 months, then another year on the lees in tank before yet more years of aging in bottle. There’s tremendous structure and tension, as well as a highly refined palate of elegant stone and orchard fruit to the wine, a medium-bodied, lovely, balanced expression of the exceptional site and winemaking at its core.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I was quite impressed with the 2021 Chardonnay Reserve, which, even in its youth, delivers everything one can expect from a Mount Eden Chardonnay: rich, golden power with equal measure of clarity, vibrancy, dimension and length. The nose is round, detailed and pleasantly lees-influenced, gradually revealing citrus and flint top notes. It is suave, tensile and seamless on the palate, concluding with a punchy yet slow-moving, nuanced finish that gains tension with time in the glass. This deserves another few years in the cellar to blossom, and I suspect that fans of mature Mount Eden Chardonnay will be rewarded by aging this into its second decade.
Rating: 95+ -
James Suckling
So full of texture and personality, with nectarines, citrus, salty minerality, white tea and chamomile. Tensile acidity and lemon blossoms in the finish. Hold for a year or two, and then enjoy over the next several.
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.
A rugged and topographically diverse cool-climate appellation with a rich history, the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA stretches from Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco, to the northern border of Monterey County. Elevations range from 800 feet to upwards of 3,000 and microclimates vary substantially depending on which side of the mountains the vineyards lie; cool ocean winds and fog play an important role here. This can be a challenging region in which to grow grapes, but it is well worth the effort. Santa Cruz Mountains wines are noted for balanced acidity levels, often showing great aging potential. Wine has been made here since the 1800s, most notably from the legendary Ridge Vineyards, whose Monte Bello vineyard garners international admiration.
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the stars of this region, while Merlot and Zinfandel also perform quite well. Organic and sustainable vineyard practices are becoming increasingly common.