A wine with tremendous lineage and ageability, the 2021 Chardonnay Estate offers a depth of golden nectar, pear, and toasted oak, with a prestigious length and breadth that only begins to suggest its ability to age another 25-30 years. (Winemaker Jeffrey Patterson has been driven for decades by a dedicated vision of longevity for these wines.) The high levels of acidity lead toward a refined palate of elegantly demure fruit, a quench of Meyer lemon, and nuanced, integrated oak, just a touch of hazelnut accenting the long finish to great effect. With its pedigree for aging wines, this should drink best 2031-2046.
The 2021 Chardonnay Estate strikes an admirable balance between textural decadence and tensile sturdiness. It leads with a rich, layered nose of honeyed orchard fruits, blanched almonds and baking spices. The palate harnesses a soft, creamy richness with lifted acidity and impressive, saline length on the finish. Continuing the time-tested style of Mount Eden, this should build further complexity and intensity for nearly a decade.
Deep golden yellow in the glass, the 2021 Chardonnay Estate Bottled is soft-spoken and inward today. It's clearly holding its power in reserve as it plots its next move. Briny, focused, lemony acidity presses on with much gusto, energizing a deep well of crushed stones, soft floral tones and green pear fruit. Rounded and enveloping, it unfurls at a snail's pace as lime zest and subtle tropical flourishes inflect the finish. This classy, restrained wine needs a couple of years in bottle to fully blossom.
A filigreed and pure nose turns to a lean, flinty palate with mouthwatering citrus fruit, tarragon and a finish that nods in the direction of Chablis with its confident chalkiness. Drink or hold, but there is no rush.
Smooth and inviting aromas of peach and lemon peel are immensely pleasant on the nose of this bottling. There is ample tension to the palate, which is awash in bold citrus flavors of lemon and grapefruit peel that cut into the apple flesh midpalate and guava-laced finish.
A concentrated white, with white peach, candied orange peel and ginger candy flavors at the core. Cardamom, grilled bread and clove accents give this an aromatic boost, while additional citrus notes on the finish leave a fresh impression. Drink now through 2034. 1,463 cases made.
Winery Notes
In the late 1940s and early 1960s, Martin Ray planted six acres of Chardonnay vines propagated from a Burgundian selection grown in the original Paul Masson vineyard. 20 acres of Estate Chardonnay are now farmed at Mount Eden from which 1,200 to 2,000 cases per year are produced. Yields average one to two tons per acre, far below the average for Chardonnay in California. The Estate Chardonnay grapes are harvested when slightly yellow to yellow-green and are pressed without crushing. All of the juice is barrel-fermented in new and one-year-old French Burgundy barrels, where the wine undergoes full malolactic fermentation and is ages on the lees for ten months before being lightly filtered prior to bottling. The Chardonnay is then cellared for two years before being released for sale.