2011 Diatom Chardonnay Miya
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Tasting notes
(15.3% alcohol): Pale yellow. Brisk orange and orchard fruit aromas are complicated by pungent herbs and quinine. Taut, spicy and dry, with a chewy quality to the orange pith and pear flavors. Mounting spiciness lends cut to the impressively long, spicy, powerful finish. This is the most structured wine of this group, and the one I would hide in the cellar.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
In my view, the most complete and harmonious of these wines from Diatom is the 2011 Chardonnay Miya. It possesses good overall depth, richness and definition. Hints of peach, nectarine and light floral honey wrap around the expressive finish.
In my view, the most complete and harmonious of these wines from Diatom is the 2011 Chardonnay Miya. It possesses good overall depth, richness and definition. Hints of peach, nectarine and light floral honey wrap around the expressive finish. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016. I am a big fan of Greg Brewer and most of his wines, but I have to be honest that I don’t get what he is trying to accomplish with Diatom. Brewer says he is going for a pure, minimalist style that emphasizes the unique sites he works with, “like the perfect cut of toro tuna,” he adds. That may be the intention, and it certainly sounds good, but to me the work that is required in the cellar to get these wines into bottle by late March of the year following the harvest is all about intervention, and involves the use of commercial yeasts and sterile filtration, among other things, all of which permit an unusually short elevage. Some readers may find pleasure in the severe austerity of these wines, but I do not. To be fair, I have enjoyed the Diatom wines in the recent past, so perhaps it is just a question of a tough vintage. Tel. (805) 452-5609; www.diatomwines.com