Matthiasson Michael Mara Vineyard Chardonnay 2018
$135.00 inc. GST
Accolades:
93/100 – James Suckling
“Aromas of lemon peel, green apple, fresh straw and lemon grass. Medium-bodied with a lovely, supple texture. Fresh and bright on the palate. Elegant. Baked lemons and fresh herbs. Delicious. Drink now.” – James Suckling
Tasting Note: The wine is 100 percent Chardonnay, clone 4 (the clone highest in natural acidity that we are aware of). It has the white peach, toasted almond or marshmallow, and ripe pear nose that is expected with Chardonnay, as well as plenty of weight, length, and richness. It is not showy, however — its opulence is natural, endemic to the fruit, not created in the cellar. It has a distinct mineral core of rock dust, which is the distinguishing characteristic of the vineyard. This is a wine borne from blood, sweat, and tears. The dream of planting our own vineyard from scratch verged on nightmare as we struggled with the rockiest soil we’ve experienced in 20 years of working in vineyards. It almost put us out of business. The rocks were finally surmounted and the vineyard produced a crop, one that we ended up having to mostly sell to other wineries to cover the unanticipated expense of planting. We were able to hold a small amount of fruit back for ourselves. The effort of planting was consummated by making the wine. It was clearly worth it.
Winemaking Notes: The fruit is picked in two batches. The first batch, 80% of the wine, is harvested very early, to capture the high natural acidity and maintain wine balance and a moderate alcohol level. The second harvest, 20% of the wine, is harvested a little bit later, to capture the richness and power of the vineyard site. The fruit from each harvest is lightly whole-cluster-pressed, settled for 24 hours, then barrel fermented. The wine goes through 100% malolactic fermentation in older neutral barrels and a few new French oak barrels. It is given 18 months of barrel aging, with no topping or sulfur added until bottling. There is also no battonage — the wine rests on the lees to age undisturbed. The pH is 3.14, the acidity is 6.5 g/l
Certification: Organic
Alcohol: 13.5%
Varietal: Chardonnay
Region: Sonoma Coast, California
Production: 209 cases
In stock
