Mount Eden Vineyards, Chardonnay

Mount Eden Vineyards, ChardonnayA wine with tremendous lineage and ageability, the 2021 Chardonnay Estate offers a depth of golden nectar, pear, and toasted oak, with a prestigious length and breadth that only begins to suggest its ability to age another 25 30 years. (Winemaker Jeffrey Patterson has been driven for decades by a dedicated vision of longevity for these wines.) The high levels of acidity lead toward a refined palate of elegantly demure fruit, a quench of Meyer lemon,

candied flowers

(93-96)/2015+

white blossoms and almond pastry

It is aged in around 40% new oak with a slightly lighter toast than previous vintages

If Champagne is all about the art of blending

velvety quality of fruit with lingering tones of dark plum and prune over spice and leather

There is excellent intensity to the beautifully detailed mineral- driven flavors that conclude a youthfully austere and lengthy if slightly lean finish

On the plus side there is once again excellent density to the overtly powerful and muscular big-bodied flavors that possess even better depth and persistence if not the same refinement – then again

ripe and restrained aromas of primarily red and dark currant aromas that are liberally laced with sauvage

anise and the sauvage adding breadth to the ripe dark currant scents

(from vines reportedly between 85 and 115 years of age) Inky ruby

still powdery fine and shapely