2016 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
Starting with the 2016 Chardonnay Estate, this fabulous wine is up with the crème de la crème of the vintage and isn’t far off the more expensive Monte Bello release. Loaded with stone fruit and white flower nuances as well as some reductive qualities, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, beautiful purity, and high yet integrated acidity. It’s a brilliant effort and worth a case purchase as it should age for 15-20 years.
Critic scores
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Impressive grapefruit and pithy lemon aromas here. Really fresh and complex. The palate has the same pithy yellow-citrus emphasis with attractive tension and depth. This is an on point, contemporary chardonnay. Drink or hold.
A total head turner is the 2016 Chardonnay Estate, which is reminiscent of a Grand Cru White Burgundy. Loaded with notions of ripe orchard fruits, toast, flinty minerality and white flowers, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a deep, vibrant, powerful texture and bracing acidity. This is a beautiful, backward beauty that needs to be forgotten for 3-4 years and enjoyed over the following 10-15 years.
The 2016 Chardonnay Estate is gorgeous. Rich, deep and pliant, the 2016 is endowed with serious structure and textural resonance. Lemon confit, white flowers, chamomile, lightly honeyed notes and a touch of reduction all ring out in this super-expressive, inviting Chardonnay from Ridge. The 2016 was fermented in barrel and spent 16 months in oak. All of the lots are from Monte Bello, but that are fruitier and therefore considered better suited for this wine than the flagship Chardonnay.
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.