Winemaker Notes
It is a wine with abundant aromas of apricot, pear, papaya, white peach and Meyer lemon zest with perfumed citrus blossoms, vanilla and toasty oak.
Aged for nine months on French oak - 45% malolatic fermentation - sur lees aging.
Winemaker's Notes: Arroyo Seco Chardonnay is reputed to be the most flavorful Chardonnay among the coolest growing regions of California.
With such outstanding grapes, we have combined the attributes of malolactic fermentation and sur-lees aging to yield a Chardonnay with aromatic elegance, opulent flavors and an exceedingly long, balanced finish.
"Brilliant yellow-gold hue. Apple, peach and pineapple flavors with a light floral accent. Ripe, tasty apple and pear fruit with an attractive, supple texture. Sweet, lengthy finish with a caramel apple-like richness." 92 Points
The Wine News
Professional Ratings
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.