2008 Diatom Chardonnay Babcock Vineyard
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Tasting notes
Bright gold. Musky citrus pith and pear skin on the nose, which also features notes of toasted nuts and spicecake. A broad, sappy wine that offers gently sweet orange and pear flavors, with hints of smoky lees and dried flowers adding complexity. The richest wine of this set, finishing with strong thrust and noteworthy clarity and energy for such power.
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Average Score
Robert Parker
Josh Raynolds
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The 2008 Chardonnay Babcock Vineyard possesses plenty of white citrus, orange blossom, honeyed grapefruit, spring flower, crushed rock, and white currant characteristics. Beautifully full with striking delineation, excellent precision and freshness, and full-bodied length, it should drink well for 7-10 years. These minimalist tank-fermented Chardonnays, with malolactic fermentation blocked, are brilliant achievements from wunderkind Greg Brewer. These wines essentially prove the inconceivable – that high alcohol wines with extraordinary minerality and precision, great elegance, and floral characteristics that never taste heavy, are as fresh and vibrant as any wine can be. Nothing like these Chardonnays is being produced anywhere else in California. Readers should keep in mind they all possess natural alcohols in the 15.7-15.8% range. Tel. (805) 452-5809; Fax (805) 735-9185