2019 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
The 2019 Chardonnay Estate is super-elegant and precise. Scents of tangerine oil, mint, apricot and chamomile all grace this lithe, wonderfully expressive Chardonnay. Bright acids and a very slight touch of reduction frame the close. The Estate is made for near and medium-term drinking. I would prefer to open it well in advance though.
Critic scores
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Coming from the Santa Cruz Mountains, the 2019 Chardonnay Estate offers a beautiful sense of reduction and minerality in its stone fruits, toasted brioche, and crushed stone-like aromas and flavors. A kiss of green almonds and salinity emerges with time in the glass, and this is a beautiful, classic Chardonnay from this team that will evolve gracefully for a good 20 years or more.
Concentrated aromas of hawthorn, dried pineapple, salted caramel and buttered toast. It’s full-bodied with bright acidity and intense, tightly wound layers of ripe, spiced fruit. Fantastic phenolic tension and energy here. Drink or hold.
About the producer
Best known for its iconic Monte Bello, Ridge Vineyards makes some of California’s finest wines – particularly Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. Long a pioneer of sustainable farming and minimal-intervention winemaking, Ridge makes an extensive range from Sonoma County and the Santa Cruz Mountains.