Winemaker Notes
With a name meaning “out of” in Latin, EX speaks to our focus on expressing the personality and characteristics of our Certified Sustainable (SIP) estate vineyard. The 2018 EX Chardonnay comes from the original 35-year old, own-rooted Clone 4 planted on our estate vineyard. It is fermented (primary only) and aged for 3 months in stainless steel. The resulting unoaked wine is bright and direct, yet deceptively rich. The nose has a subtle tropical note and flavors offer guava, banana and green apple. There is a noticeable but balanced acidity with a full mouthfeel.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Fresh lime skin, melon flesh and guava peel make for a fresh entry to the nose of this bottling. There is plenty of tension on the sip, where more citrus and tropical notes lead into a pineapple finish.
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.