Martin Ray
2019 Chardonnay
, Santa Cruz Mountains

93 Points, James Suckling

Mouthwateringly intense aromas of salted butter and toast, with ripe Bosc pear, lemon mousse, and grilled pineapple with touches of honeysuckle on the nose.  Lemon curd, grilled pear, hazelnut and chalk.  Subtle baking spices, sweet grass, a hint of quince paste and Tahitian vanilla overlay a broad palate framed by linear acidity and minerality. Hard to resist this wine.
Enjoy now or hold a few in your cellar.

A true representation of cool climate, high-elevation Chardonnay, offering ripe fruit, incredible concentration, framed by intense acidity and minerality.

VINEYARDS

Bald Mountain Vineyard, Cooper-Garrod Vineyard are both sitting at roughly 1000 ft elevation on opposite sides of the mountain, each vineyard was planted over 30 years ago and experiences impeccable sun exposure with tremendous diurnal shifts in temperature.

VINTAGE

Starting with rain during bloom, 2019 transitioned into a steady, slow to warm spring. Temperate throughout the summer, offering only a couple intermittent heat spikes. Average yields and incredible quality with harvest beginning in early August.

WINEMAKING

Each lot picked individually at peak ripeness. Gently whole cluster pressed, cold-settled for two days, then racked to 35% new French oak barrels. Native yeast fermentation and 100% malolactic fermentation, lees stirred bi-weekly during it’s 12 months of aging.

Vintage:  2019
Varietal Composition:  100% Chardonnay
Vineyard:  Bald Mountain Vineyard, Cooper-Garrod Vineyard
Appellation:  Santa Cruz Mountains
Aging:  Lees stirred bi-weekly for 12 months on 35% new French oak
Brix:  22.6
pH:  3.43
TA:  6.0 g/100ml
Release Date:  November 2020
Alcohol:  13.4%

Tasting Notes  PDF

More About Martin Ray