2012 Estate Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
The 2012 Chardonnay Estate is an impressive and intricate example of this iconic California wine. From the first pour, clean, intense aromas of crushed stones, pineapple, honeysuckle and citrus zest bound from the glass. The palate is succulent, tensile and lively, with a multilayered and impressively youthful finish. Considering the amount of money one can easily shell out for California Chardonnay, the degree to which Mount Eden overdelivers, especially in this early 2010s era, is hard to overstate.
Critic scores
Average Score
The Wine Advocate
The Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2014 Chardonnay Estate from Mount Eden is terrific, offering up a youthful bouquet of buttered apples, pear, toasted nuts and brioche that reveals more and more nuance as it sits in the glass. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, pure and racy, with a satiny attack, deep core and bright acids. The finish is long and mouthwateringly chalky. This is one of the best recent releases of the Estate Chardonnay, and it comes warmly recommended. (WK)
The 2014 Chardonnay (Santa Cruz Mountains) is a rich, almost viscous wine endowed with palpable intensity in all of its dimensions. Orange peel, apricot, mint, wild flowers and chamomile are all nicely pushed forward. Deceptive in its mid-weight feel, the 2014 possesses quite a bit of structure. Even so, it is the wine's precision and energy that I find most impressive at this stage. I would give the 2014 at least a few years to fully come together, as it is pretty tightly wound, even after a few hours of aeration. (AG)
Fluffy lees texture, apple, toffee, salty finish, lovely crunch and tightness. Square edges. Tingles. (RH)