2009 Ridge Estate Chardonnay, Santa Cruz, California
Critics reviews
Antonio Galloni - 31/08/2011
About this WINE
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.
Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.
Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.
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Description
The great Ridge estate in California is justly renowned primarily for the sublime quality of its Monte Bello Cabernet, one of the world’s great wines. Less well-known, but equally worthy of note, are the Chardonnays produced from the estate’s vineyards grown high in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In exceptional vintages a Monte Bello Chardonnay is produced, but from the 2009 the main Chardonnay bottled here will be known as Ridge Estate Chardonnay. The cool climate and fractured limestone subsoil is highly evocative of Burgundy, and the Chardonnay from this location has a great resemblance to the great wines produced in that region. The bouquet exhibits a complex array of fruit aromas, including the tropical hints of pineapple and honeysuckle mingling with more temperate notes such as apple, pear and honeydew melon. On the palate there is a dash of butterscotch supporting the leesy, hazelnut-and-white peach flavour, with a touch of butterscotch from the oak. Five ages of barrel are used, with only 10% new to avoid imparting too strong a wood flavour, and the balance is 93% American oak and 7% French. Natural yeasts are used and the wine undergoes full malolactic fermentation, spending 15 months in barrel before bottling. One of the finest Californian Chardonnays on the market, brimming with lovely maturity and yet shot through with finesse.
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