Winemaker Notes
This Chardonnay has brightly layered aromas of lemon zest and wet stone with subtle notes of white flowers. On the palate this wine is delicate with citrus and mineral flavors that lead into a clean finish.
This Chardonnay is a perfect complement to grilled mahi mahi or steamed lobster with chive butter.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Chardonnays from this vineyard are virtually guaranteed to be among the richest in California, and Talley’s 2008 certainly doesn’t disappoint. It’s a massively structured, flamboyant wine, tremendous in tropical fruit, pear, peach and apple flavors that taste like they’ve been baked into a pie, along with the sweet, smoky crust. A tremendous wine that must be paired with equally sized food. Lobster and scallops come to mind, served in rich cream and butter sauces.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 is slightly thicker than the 2009. It is full-bodied with notions of honeyed apples, nectarines, white citrus, tangerine oil, and a subtle smoky component. Crisp acids, medium to full body, and outstanding texture, richness and length make for another impressive Chardonnay that may be slightly more honeyed than the 2009, without the delicacy and finesse of the latter vintage. However, it is more elegant, thick and unctuous than the 2009. It should drink well for 10-12 years.
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.