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Wine Recommendation
San Saba Vineyards
2006 Chardonnay, Estate(Monterey)
San Saba Vineyards were planted in the dramatic wave of viticultural development in Monterey back in the 1970s. Backed up against the Santa Lucia Highlands, this vineyard has proven itself, vintage after vintage, with a both the Bordeaux and Burgundy varieties - quite an achievement in the terroir complexity of Monterey County.
The 2006 vintage was problematic in the Salinas Valley, holding down ripening with late flowering and then an excruciatingly slow fall ripening. However, if there was any “greenness” in this fruit, the French oak fermentation, full malolactic fermentation and nearly a year of sur lie gestation brought the wine to precisely the finish desired. Lemon-butterscotch-vanilla on the nose, the wine is soft and full textured, with a lingering butterscotch finish. This wine, all Mt. Eden clone, is virtually perfect in the oak and buttery style of Chardonnay.
Reviewed April 1, 2008 by Roger Dial.
The Wine
Winery: San Saba Vineyards |
The Reviewer
Roger Dial
Under various hats (winegrower/maker/negotiant/writer) Roger Dial has been tasting wine professionally for 40 years. He regards varietal and regional diversity as the best virtues of wine, and is ever-suspicious of the quest (by producers and critics, alike) for “universal greatness”. His tasting regime is simple: Is the wine technically sound? Is it interesting? Warning: he’s a sucker for all aromatic varieties. |