92 Points, Best Buy - Wine & Spirits, October 2015
Walter Schug certainly knew his way around a vineyard. His experience and knowledge shows in their Carneros Chardonnay, which displays remarkable purity, balance, and complexity. Sourced from top growers including Ricci, Cornerstone, Wildcat, Sangiacomo, Leveroni and Iund Vineyards. This wine expresses varietal purity at a price seldom seen.
As we develop deeper relationships with high quality producers in California who are turning out great wines at great prices, certain wineries jump out as consistently delivering incredible value across a range of wines. One of these is certainly Schug Estate, where they continue to turn out stellar wines.
This classic Carneros Chardonnay was grown on our own cool-climate Estate vineyard, as well as the Ricci, Cornerstone, Wildcat, Sangiacomo, Leveroni and Iund Vineyards. It was barrel fermented and aged on the lees (“sur-lie”) in small French oak barrels, with minimal new oak introduced. Malo-lactic fermentation was not induced, allowing the wine to retain its natural acidity and varietal focus. The result is a wine that is both rich and powerful, while refreshing and elegant on the finish. It has a ripe, spicy tropical bouquet with flavors that suggest citrus, pear and spiced apples. Well-balanced acidity gives it a crisp, clean finish, making it an excellent wine with food. Try it with cream soups, rich seafood, fowl, veal and pasta dishes.
BLEND: 30% Schug Estate; 23% Ricci; 13% Wildcat Mountain; 10% Cornerstones; 9% Sangiacomo Tallgrass; 6% Iund; 5% Wood Valley; 4% Leveroni
APPELLATION: 91% Carneros; 9% Sonoma Valley
HARVEST DATES: September 4th through October 7th, 2013
SUGAR AT HARVEST: 24.3 degrees Brix average
FERMENTATION: 100% barrel fermented
AGING COOPERAGE: Aged “sur-lie” for 8 months in 17% new medium toast French “Allier” oak barrels
ALCOHOL: 14.1% by volume
ACIDITY: TA = 0.70 g/100ml; pH = 3.44
RELEASE DATE: October 1st, 2014
WINERY RETAIL: $32 per 750ml bottle
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97 Points
Rich dark fruit flavors of blackberry and cherry with notes of baking spices, licorice, coffee, and chocolate that interlace seamlessly with complexity, creating a wine that is both structured and delightfully supple, achieving an ideal balance of tension and grace. Artfully composed of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon with 17% Cabernet Franc, resulting in harmonious depth and freshness.
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