Winemaker Notes
Talbott Diamond T Chardonnay is made using a selection of the finest estate grapes from our famed Diamond T Vineyard. The lush aromas of ripe tropical fruit layered with yellow apple, Meyer lemon, and hard spices leap out of the glass and are driven by a vibrant acidity. These elements continue on the palate and are framed by a bright minerality, a toasty note of crème brûlée and a finish that is lingering, smooth and creamy. This wellbalanced cool-climate wine is sure to please fans of old world structure and new world flavors.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Chardonnay Diamond T Estate has exuberant tropical note of guava, pineapple and green mango with touches of baking bread, beeswax, allspice and honeysuckle. Medium-bodied, with a lively acid line defining the silken-textured, intensely tropical palate, it finishes with lovely chalk and citrus layers.
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 geographic and climatic paradise for grape vines, Monterey is a part of the greater Central Coast AVA and contains within it five smaller sub-appellations, including Arroyo Seco, San Lucas, San Bernabe, Hames Valley and the famous Santa Lucia Highlands. The climate is relatively warm but tempered by cool, coastal winds, allowing the regions in Monterey County an exceptionally long growing season. Bud break often happens two weeks sooner and harvest tends to be two weeks later compared to other surrounding regions.
Monterey’s coastal side, where the cooling ocean fog allows grapes to develop a perfect sugar-acid balance, excels in the production of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Warmer, inland subzones are home to fleshy, concentrated and full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel.
Chardonnay, covering about 40% of vineyard acreage, is the most widely planted grape in all of Monterey County.