Country: | United States |
Regions: | California California (Central Coast) |
Winery: | Oceano Wines |
Grape Type: | Chardonnay |
Organic: | Yes |
Vintage: | 2016 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Mt Monster Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Gentle pressing and free run juices create the base of this wine.
Traditionally Mt Monster Chardonnay is 100% fermented and matured in stainless steel, this receives some lees contact to add texture and complexity to the palate, but essentially this wine is pure Chardonnay fruit.
Review & Tasting notes:
Bright straw color, with hints of lime green. Fresh figs and melon, with vibrant lemon citrus fruit. The nose also shows some yeast complexity from extended lees contact. Fresh tangy melon fruit flavors, & a clean acid finish. Although it may benefit from up to 2 years maturation in bottle, this wine is best consumed when young and fresh.
- Australian Wine Showcase (December 2016), 94 pts
Jip Jip Rocks Chardonnay 2014 is made from 100 percent unoaked Chardonnay.
Light yellow with a pale straw hue. A classic nose of lemon, fresh stonefruit and melon. The palate is clean and fresh with mineral characters underpinning ripe pineapple and lime flavours. This wine will age beautifully over the next 4-5 years.
Winemaking report: Gentle pressing and free run juices create the base of this wine. Traditionally Jip Jip Rocks Chardonnay is a 2/3 blend fermented and matured in stainless steel and 1/3 fermented in stainless steel, which receives extended lees contact to add texture and complexity to the palate.
Sunset Hills Shenandoah Springs Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
This is our first release of a clone-specific wine for Sunset Hills. The goal is to show you a specific terroir, one that year after year delivers excellent fruit quality. I chose clone 96 for its complexity both in ripening and barrel aging. During ripening, the fruit has notes of pineapple and pear with great acidity. I saw this wine as a chance to highlight not only the vineyard, but how detailed we can get in growing and making wine.
100% Chardonnay:
75% Clone 96
20% Clone 76
5% Clone 17
Notes of light honeysuckle, Asian pear, raw almond, and lemon custard. Medium body and medium acid.
This Chardonnay features bright, concentrated citrus, pear, green apple and nectarine fruit, with just a touch of oak to add richness to the palate. The wine lingers on the palate, and has the structure and acidity to provide for good longevity.
fter whole-cluster pressing, the Chardonnay juice was barrel-fermented in French oak barrels and aged sur lie for 8 months. During this period, the barrels were routinely stirred to increase yeast contact and add richness; 30% of the wine underwent secondary malo-lactic fermentation. One- and two-year-old French oak barrels were used. Prior to bottling, the wine received minimal filtration and fining to preserve the fresh fruit flavors.
Domaine Nico le Paradis Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
The cool climate vineyard that belongs to Laura and her sister Adrianna Catena feels like paradise itself to Laura. It is lined by trees and fruit orchards, with majestic views of the Andes. Inside the 12 Hectare vineyard, there is a little house with two tiny bedrooms and a kitchen, where Laura dreams of spending a whole month reading books-Laura's version of paradise. The little house is affectionately named Chateau Laura. About the Vineyard The tiny parcel where Le Paradis is grown was planted in 2011 with Dijon 667 Clones over two acres. Wine Production The grapes from this small parcel were elaborated in 15 separate microvinifications.
All the microvinifications were fermented with indigenous yeast. 20% of the microvinifications were fermented with 100% whole clusters in oak roll-fermentor of 600L and low temp (22 Celcius degrees). 40% were fermented with 20% whole cluster in small vats of 800L and 40% fermented in small vats of 800L without sulfites until 4%V/V of alcohol.
Review:
From soils rich in calcium carbonate and sand, in a vineyard 1,600 meters above sea level, this wine comes from a selection of 2.7 hectares that produced very little fruit in 2016, just barely enough to fill 800 bottles. But watch out for this white, with its edge, its minerality, those saline notes that are so characteristic of chardonnay from the chalky Gualtallary soils. The wine was aged for a year in used barrels, and it has some of the toast, but here it’s the deep minerality that dominates.
Patricio Tapia - Descorchados 96 Points
Oceano is 100% chardonnay hand-picked at Spanish Springs. This SIP certified sustainable vineyard is nestled in the slopes of Price Canyon on the southern edge of the Edna Valley. Separated by a small mountain range it is the closest vineyard to the Pacific in California.
A chardonnay for the serious wine lover. Fermented and aged in French oak barrels, this wine is elegant and textural. Citrus fruit and flowers dominate the nose. The palate is accessible, but with tension, something very rarely found in Chardonnay wines from California.
Tasting notes: A rich nose of grapefruit, white peach, lemon verbena, and hints of geranium. A zesty orange attack leads to a juicy mouth of pear, green mango, tangerine, and guava. The lemon/lime finish is long and clean.
Vinification: Cold barrel fermentation
Barrels Type: 228-L Burgundy/French oak barrels
Barrel Forest: Allier, Vosges, Tronçais
Barrel Toasts: M, M+
Cooperages: Francois Ferres, Cadus
Primary Fermentation: 100% inoculated with saccharomyces cerevisiae (X-16, Montrachet)
Secondary Fermentation: 15% inoculated with MBR 31 ML-bacteria
Vineyard information:
Spanish Springs Vineyard is the sole source of fruit for the chardonnay (and soon pinot noir) made by Oceano Wines. Located nearly at the southern end of the sprawling Central Coast AVA, yet within the San Luis Obispo County AVA (American Viticultural Area), Spanish Springs is perfectly situated to grow chardonnay – the vineyard also produces a number of other grapes, both white and red – that epitomizes balance and elegance. While the Central Coast designation is among the largest AVAs in all of North America, stretching practically from San Francisco to Santa Barbara, and from the coast to inland nearly 50 miles, Spanish Springs is a rarity within it because it is closer to the Pacific Ocean than any other vineyard in this “coastal” appellation, not to mention the Golden State itself.
Perched on the slopes of Price Canyon, a mere one-and-a-half miles from the ocean, the vineyard is ideally situated so it can be enrobed by the cool marine layer that rolls in reliably each morning from the ocean before the mid-day sun gradually melts it away. The chardonnay is allowed to gently warm up. Then, as afternoon turns to evening, cooling Pacific breezes pick up to ensure that the grapes never over ripen to the point where sugar levels translate into high-alcohol wine. A complex mix of sandstone, shale and limestone at the base, with soils reflective of these same sedimentary rocks, results in the lithe, fresh style of chardonnay that Oceano is intent on making.
Not surprisingly, given the unspoiled nature of the place, the vineyard is SIP Certified. This Sustainable In Practice designation is arguably more stringent than what is mandated by the USDA’s Organic program as well as biodynamic practices because it touches on every part of the grape-growing and winemaking process, from planting to the way the finished wine is packaged and shipped. So, while there are about 100,000 acres of planted vineyards in the Central Coast AVA, the San Luis Obispo Coast designated for Oceano Wines’ chardonnay are truly special.
Pairs well with fish, shellfish, bird, pig
Review:
"Oceano is the project of Rachel Martin, executive vice president of Boxwood Estate Winery in Middleburg, Va., and her fiance, Grammy Award-winning music producer Kurt Deutsch. It’s an impressive debut wine, sourced from a vineyard just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean near San Luis Obispo. There’s a lot going on in the glass, as waves of citrus and tropical fruit flavors compete for attention. Just sit back and enjoy each sip. - Dave McIntyre"
- Washington Post (February 2018) - EXCEPTIONAL * - "5 wines perfect for Valentine’s Day"
The winery gets its name from the vineyard proximity to the Pacific Ocean and the historic name of the area. The Oceano Dunes are thought to be the center of an energy vortex much like Sedona.
A unique combination of education and experience brought co-owners Rachel Martin and Kurt Deutsch to launch Oceano Wines in 2016 in San Luis Obispo, California.
Rachel Martin and her family founded Boxwood Winery in 2005. After 11 years running all aspects of viticulture, winemaking, distribution and branding, she started her own wine project with Kurt Deutsch, Oceano Wines. Kurt, a former actor on stage and screen, current film and theater, is a three time grammy award wining music producer. The two met in her hometown during Kurt's movie premier, "Last Five Years", at the Middleburg Film Festival. Rachel exposed Kurt to the delight of wine and vine.
The debut release of the Oceano Wines 2016 Spanish Springs Vineyard Chardonnay (a Pinot Noir is to follow) is the happy result of any number of coincidences and fortuitous happenings.
The backstory of how this came to be reads like a romance novel. Co-proprietors Rachel Martin and Kurt Deutsch were seated at the same table at the Middleburg Film Festival’s screening of “The Last Five Years” in October 2014. While it wasn’t a set up, it was the first step in what would become a romance first and then a business partnership. Both of these relationships evolved out of the seemingly unlikely intersection of their careers.
That they ended up at the table together happened because Martin is a founding board member of the film festival (she is intimately involved with the food and drink aspect – no surprise given her position as Executive Vice President of Winery Operations at nearby Boxwood Estate Winery). For Deutsch’s part, he was there because his company Sh-K-Boom is a producer of the film that was being screened. As the relationship progressed, Deutsch became more and more intrigued by Martin’s world, which soon led to another made-to-order coincidence.
It occurred to Deutsch that his father’s longtime friend and neighbor owned a vineyard in California. Deutsch suggested that Martin buy some grapes to make a wine. They made the trip to Henry Warshaw’s Spanish Springs Vineyard located about 10 miles south of the sleepy town of San Luis Obispo more as wine country tourists than aspiring vintners. While Warshaw sought Martin’s input on the wine side of ANZA Vineyard Estates at Spanish Springs, a 16-home wine country community that includes this vineyard, neither of them were looking to make a wine. But at the same time Martin was impressed by what she saw. And after meeting with the vineyard manager, George Donati of Pacific Vineyard Company, she was even more so.
After returning to the East Coast, they decided that they couldn’t let this opportunity pass. Particularly because the vineyard was becoming known for the quality of its fruit and they feared that if they didn’t jump in now, they wouldn’t have the chance later. Jump they did.
"Spanish Springs is a rarity within the sprawling Central Coast AVA because it is closer to the Pacific Ocean than any other vineyard in this appellation, not to mention the Golden State itself."
Spanish Springs Vineyard is the sole source of fruit for the chardonnay (and soon pinot noir) made by Oceano Wines. Located nearly at the southern end of the sprawling Central Coast AVA (American Viticultural Area), Spanish Springs is perfectly situated to grow chardonnay – the vineyard also produces a number of other grapes, both white and red – that epitomizes balance and elegance. While the Central Coast designation is among the largest AVAs in all of North America, stretching practically from San Francisco to Santa Barbara, and from the coast to inland nearly 50 miles, Spanish Springs is a rarity within it because it is closer to the Pacific Ocean than any other vineyard in this “coastal” appellation, not to mention the Golden State itself.
Perched on the slopes of Price Canyon, a mere one-and-a-half miles from the ocean, the vineyard is ideally situated so it can be enrobed by the cool marine layer that rolls in reliably each morning from the ocean before the mid-day sun gradually melts it away. The chardonnay is allowed to gently warm up. Then, as afternoon turns to evening, cooling Pacific breezes pick up to ensure that the grapes never over ripen to the point where sugar levels translate into high-alcohol wine. A complex mix of sandstone, shale and limestone at the base, with soils reflective of these same sedimentary rocks, results in the lithe, fresh style of chardonnay that Oceano is intent on making.
The vineyard, about 10 miles south of San Luis Obispo, was originally conceived as a part of a wine country community of 16 home sites nestled in 300 pristine acres of rolling hills and meadows called ANZA Vineyard Estates at Spanish Springs. The development, abutting Pismo Reserve State Park, offers residents the opportunity to make wine using fruit from its namesake vineyard. But when it became apparent that the quality of the fruit was world class in all respects, winemakers came calling.
Not surprisingly, given the unspoiled nature of the place, the vineyard is SIP Certified. This Sustainable In Practice designation is arguably more stringent than what is mandated by the USDA’s Organic program as well as biodynamic practices because it touches on every part of the grape-growing and winemaking process, from planting to the way the finished wine is packaged and shipped. So, while there are about 100,000 acres of planted vineyards in the Central Coast AVA, the San Luis Obispo Coast designated for Oceano Wines’ chardonnay are truly special.
Pago de Carraovejas Ribera Del Duero is made from 90% Tempranillo, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Merlot
The most honest interpretation of the Carraovejas Valley.
Body, structure and balance with a vibrant background. Delicacy, harmony and passion for detail are perceived in a wine that reflects the unique character of the valley in an outstanding way.
The 2022 vintage was characterized by cool winter months and extremely low rainfall, reaching limits that had not been observed for years. Due to the good rainfall of the previous year, the vines had good accumulated water reserves, which allowed the vineyard to have a good phenological cycle and normal development. Budding and flowering were perfectly developed in each of the varieties worked, and a homogeneous and balanced development of the plants was achieved. The summer was excessively hot, with several episodes of heat waves, which were mitigated by drip irrigation. Veraison, which was slower than in previous years, and ripening began in early August and the berries developed very uniformly. Harvest began on September 12 and ended on September 28.
Pago de Carraovejas 2022 is the most honest reflection of the valley to which it owes its name. An environment in which the vines climb the slopes to form a unique landscape. On the surface, its tertiary soil of limestone marl, clay and sandstone outcrops force the vines to self-regulate and give their best. Plots that converge in an orography marked by its unique mesoclimate. The vineyards are distributed from the middle zones to the moors that exceed 900 meters in altitude; from the gentle undulation that descends towards the stream, to the plots that exceed 30% slope. South- and north facing slopes, each with its own personality, create the profile of the Carraovejas Valley.
The grapes for Pago de Carraovejas 2022 were harvested by hand after an initial selection of bunches in the vineyard. Subsequently, in the winery, a double selection was made: first by cluster then by berry. Gravity must production allows maximum respect for the raw material. During the fermentation process, indigenous yeasts and lactic bacteria from our own estate were used. The wine was aged in French and American oak barrels for 12 months. The entire process was marked by precision and care in every detail. For greater protection, the wine contains sulfites. Finally it was clarified with natural egg white and bottle in spring of 2024.
Review:
A concentrated, dense Ribera del Duero, but there is a lot to like if you enjoy plushness, with its lush blackberry fruit and dark chocolate. Fine-grained and full-bodied on the palate, but fresh and still pretty tense, with chalky tannins. Drink from 2025.
-James Suckling 93 Points
Lydian GSM is made from 40% Grenache, 33% Mourvèdre, 27% Syrah.
Lydian was established in 2019 as a new way to experience Washington wine. The team behind Avennia brings you another delicious wine that serves as an introduction to a lifetime of wine appreciation and a fresh take on Washington terroir.
In music, Lydian refers to a mode, or scale that is used as a building block for some of the world’s oldest and newest masterpieces. This happy sounding mode brings joy on its own, yet when molded and crafted by talented musicians can become a work of timeless art.
We believe Washington vineyards produce some of the finest building blocks in the world. With these grapes, and the collective talent behind those growing and working with them, Lydian wines can be as complex, nuanced, and profound as any jazz classic.
Lydian: a fun, fresh take on Washington wine.
Lydian GSM is fresh and lively on the palate, with strawberry, red cherry, and hints of savory earth, fresh mint, and lavender. A delicious wine!