Tasting Notes

Release Date: Spring 2005

2002 was a special year on this mountain. Every wine made had extra dimension and richness. Since we grow the “Big Three” (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon), which all require their own unique ripening ideals, this greatness across the portfolio is rare.

Captivating aromas of citrus and stones are buttressed by mint and toasty oak. Very youthful on the palate (this is a good thing) this wine has a tight core of citrus and minerality; hazelnuts emerge in the persistent finish.

Given this wine’s unparalleled track record, the 2002 should be ready in a couple of years and drink well for a decade thereafter with good cellaring.

Production

2,191

Tech Notes

Yield: 1.8 Tons/acre Harvest: September 1st-15th Numbers @ Harvest: 24.5 Brix, 3.4 pH, 8.0 grams acidity Barrel Regimen: 50% new; 50% 1-year burgundy; 100% barrel fermented with full malolactic Bottling: July 28th-30th 2004

Reviews

92 points Robert Parker Jr's The Wine Advocate - August 2006

Issue #166

Buttery with an evolved light gold color, the 2002 Estate Chardonnay is more typically Californian, offering big, rich, full-bodied flavors, good acidity and a judicious touch of toasty oak.

90 points Wine Spectator  - November 2005

This wine offers a pleasant earthy component to the rich, tightly focused beam of apricot, fig and melon flavors. It gains complexity and depth on a cleansing finish, returning to its subtle, elegant flavors. Drink now through 2009. – J.L.

90 points Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar - July/August 2005

Medium straw-yellow. Smoked nuts, minerals and spices on the nose. Rich, leesy and thick for this bottling, with highly concentrated, complex flavors of peach pit, poached pear, tangerine

Food & Wine Magazine - April 2006

The Buyer’s Guide to 75 of the Best Wines

High up in the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking the Silicon Valley, Jeffrey Patterson produces some of California’s most authentically “Burgundian” Chardonnays.  This wine is lively and intensely flavored yet wondrously delicate.