" We don't sell the wine without touching the vine "
Marcassin Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2011
No longer available.
| Country: | United States |
| Regions: | California California (Sonoma County) |
| Winery: | Marcassin |
| Grape Types: | Pinot Noir Chardonnay |
| Vintage: | 2011 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
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Review:
"Love the salted butter, sliced cooked apple and oyster shell character. Hints of uncooked pie crust. Medium- to full-bodied. So much subtle and intense flavor with some nuttiness. Drink now or hold.”
- - James Suckling (February 17th 2024), 97 pts
Ferren Chardonnay Sonoma Coast is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
The Sonoma Coast bottling is a blend of barrels from Ferren's single vineyard offerings; Lancel Creek, Silver Eagle, Volpert, and Frei Road Vineyards. The wine is always somewhat more approachable early in its life as less new oak is used in the blend. Pure and translucent fruit is the hallmark of this cuvée. Citrus, quince, sea spray, and minerals are buoyed by refreshing acidity and a seamless finish.
Review:
A nuanced, tangy, mouthwatering and approachable wine that is both complex and very drinkable. The aromas are delicate, lifted and fresh, with oyster shells, lime zest, white flowers and chamomile. The palate is super fresh, layering salinity, richness and a long finish. Medium- to full-bodied. Drink or hold
-James Suckling 98 Points
Winemaker’s Notes
Our organically farmed high-density Estate parcel sits at the top of the ridge amongst the diverse coastal forest. Although the soil is sandy, there’s a vein of clay in the subsoil that holds winter rain and allows us to dry-farm the vines. The tight spacing keeps the clusters and soil shaded during the summer heat, which allows the fruit to retain all the nuance of the site. The wine produced here has a character - a signature - all to itself and cannot be replicated elsewhere; it's the antithesis of fruity, forward, easy-to-understand Californian Chardonnay. The grapes are small with thick skins, producing a high level of fruit extract, which translates to deep texture and structure in the wine itself. Concentration allied to freshness is the essence of this wine, and it ages beautifully in bottle for ten to twelve years.
The wine’s aromas and flavors are incredibly complex and diverse, akin to citrus oil, preserved lemon, sage, fennel and caraway. The wine is deep, powerful, and layered with oyster shell freshness cutting through the natural density. Lemongrass, spearmint, and grapefruit power the finish, which pulsates with intensity. You could decant this for an hour before serving to hasten its development. Drink between 2025 and 2030. Serve no cooler than 55º F.
Review:
From a site surrounded by dense forest on two sides, the 2022 Chardonnay DuMOL Estate Vineyard is a bright straw hue and has a more vibrant aromatic nose of fresh mint, bright lime, flint, crushed stones, and white peach. Medium to full-bodied, it boasts a remarkably firm structure with a bit of tannin, a chalky texture, and a savory slanting profile, and it’s long and persistent on the finish. It has an assertive but crystalline feel and a crunchy brightness. It demands a bit of time. Drink 2025-2035.
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Sojourn Chardonnay Sangiacomo Vineyard is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
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Product Description
The 2011 is a great Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard from a much-maligned and sometimes excessively criticized vintage. 2011 has its low points, but there are many producers who got it right, and survived the challenging growing and harvest conditions. This wine has phenomenal intensity, with plenty of crushed rock, pineapple, honeysuckle, orange and tangerine blossom in an elegant, medium to full-bodied style, with terrific intensity, good acidity and freshness. This is more evolved than either the 2009 or 2010, and probably will be a candidate for 7-8 years of aging, rather than 10 or more.
There is no doubt that Marcassin is the most difficult appointment for people to schedule, to sit down and taste wine with owners Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer. The legacy they have created in California wine is immense. They are in their early seventies, and have decided to completely dedicate themselves to their own vineyard on the Sonoma Coast. I saw them recently, and tasted through these current and upcoming releases of both the Estate Chardonnay and Estate Pinot Noir. The Chardonnay, of course, comes from very low-yielding old Wente clones of Chardonnay planted on the slopes of the Sonoma coastline hillsides. This clone is believed to have been brought over from Burgundy’s grand cru vineyard, Corton-Charlemagne, decades ago.
Marcassin Chardonnay
Here are the notes on the bottled 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and barrel samples of the 2013 and 2014. As readers know, this is probably one of the most Burgundian-styled Chardonnays ever made in California, and it has attracted many imitators. It goes through full malolactic fermentation, and sees a good dosage of new oak, but the tiny yields and meticulous winemaking are brilliant, and the wines, by and large, have aged very well, with the first Estate Chardonnays from 1996, 1997 and 1998 still going strong. The same can be said for some of Helen Turleys first Chardonnays from purchased fruit, particularly from the Lorenzo Vineyard, Hudson Vineyard and Gauer Vineyard/Upper Barn (now owned by the Jackson family, and known as their Alexander Valley Mountain Estate).
-Robert Parker Wine Advocate. 97 Points
Winery: Marcassin
Marcassin (French for ‘young wild boar’) is a distinctive Sonoma Coast, California winery owned by renowned winemaker Helen Turley and her husband John Wetlaufer, a viticulturalist. Helen Turley has worked as a consultant for numerous acclaimed wineries, but she now focuses mainly on her Marcassin wines.
Helen & John (a viticulturalist) produce around 2,500 cases of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir annually. The wines are highly sought after: 90% of the wine is sold via mailing list, and eager connoisseurs can wait years for the chance to be allocated a bottle.
Marcassin’s limited yield 20-acre estate vineyard is located on the Sonoma Coast and planted 2/3 Pinot Noir & 1/3 Chardonnay. It is meticulously farmed with densely planted vines. Fruit for their other vineyard-designated wines are sourced from neighboring Sonoma Coast vineyards.
Helen crafts unique, complex, and highly extolled expressions of Sonoma Coast wines following traditional Burgundian style, fermenting with natural yeast, primarily new oak and extended time on lees. The wines are bottled without fining, filtering or cold stabilization and are typically aged five years prior to release.
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Winemaking: This wine is a classic Bordeaux blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec, 8% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot.
. The 2010 growing season was moderate, thus promoting slow ripening and full flavor development. We hand-harvested and fermented each variety separately, then moved the wines to barrel, where they aged twelve months. Once we determined our blend, we returned the wine to barrel for an additional twelve months, to 'marry' the varietals. We used tight-grained French oak barrels (45% new) from coopers Taransaud, Vicard and Bossuet.
Winemaker Notes:
Complex, rich aromas foretell rich flavors of black currants, allspice and a hint of clove. The wine is full bodied, with velvety texture, smooth tannins and an extensive finish. Beautifully balanced, this Cabernet will age for ten more years.
Alcohol: 14.25 percent by volume
Review:
"Savory, dried red capsicum with cedar, cocoa powder and dried mushrooms on top of black cherries. Juicy and layered with some currants and savory earthy spices on the palate. Not quite deep, but a very elegant and savory expression of cabernet with a very long, subtle finish. A little sweet-sour, but quite refined and approachable, too. Drink now."
- James Suckling (June 2022), 93 pts
Bernardins Beaumes de Venise Rouge Cru Cotes du Rhone is made from 65% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre and 5% Grenache Blanc.
Bright ruby color with cherry tinges. Complex black fruit aromas on the nose enhanced by spicy notes. Rounded palate with good length.
The wine is drinking well right now and can be kept for another 10 years.
Situation
Spreads out over the south-east side of the Dentelles de Montmirail hills, in Beaumes de Venise in the southern part of the Rhone valley.
Terroir
On a poor sandy, hungry and arid soil consisting of tender limestone and gritty zones of sandy mollasse.
In the vineyard
The vineyards and their terroir are the essence of our wines. This is where everything starts and where we focus our efforts throughout the year. You can’t make great wine without great grapes.
The viticulture is essentially done by hand. Five people work full-time in the vineyards. They are supplemented by seasonal employees who work during bunch thinning and the harvest in order to bring out the very best in our vines. Working by hand and the attention each vine gets are fundamental. Pruning, de-budding, trellising, leaf removal and picking are thus carried out by hand with the utmost care.
We prepare the soil by using good old-fashioned ploughing. Organic compost is made from grape marc (the discarded stalks and skins).
As a way of protecting the plants, we only use phytosanitary products when necessary and within strict guidelines by staggering the treatments appropriately, to minimise the amount of chemicals used. We prefer to use as much as possible manual and organic techniques . Leaving natural grass cover, removing buds and leaves from the vines, preserving biodiversity around the vineyard: olive, almond and cypress trees, wild rosemary and capers.
Winemaking
We make two red wines at the estate. Terroir wines shaped by the two classic Côtes du Rhône varieties: Grenache and Syrah. We don’t follow any winemaking recipe but are constantly searching for the perfect expression of terroir and each vintage’s particular characteristics. We don’t go for overripe grapes and over-extraction, as we think the wine has to stay refreshing and balanced.
Leaving the wine for 15 days in concrete vats, we try to gently extract the tannins and anthocyanins essential for the wine’s structure and colour. The wine doesn’t come into any contact with wood during ageing. This way the characteristics of our terroir can fully express
Serve with a meal especially red meat, game and cheese.
Review:
"This has a lovely nose that combines herbs including bay leaf and oregano with pine needles and sappy damson fruit. It's mouthfilling but not heavy, lifted and fresh. Very drinkable, fresh and detailed with remarkable length. Perfectly balanced and highly recommended. One of their best vintages yet and one of the greatest value wines in the Rhône. Grown on sandy soils, fermented and aged in concrete with no destemming.- Matt WALLS"
- Decanter (September 28th 2025), 95 pts
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