Release Date: Spring 2011

We grow Chardonnay on two mountaintops, Mount Eden and Domaine Eden. All the viticulture and winemaking is the same for both. What is different is the expression. As we go through the barrels in early spring—after the wines have finished their fermentations—we look for distinctions based upon ageability. The Saratoga Cuvée selections show an earlier drinking personality, more precocious as it were. While the Estate wine is more reserved and destined for bottle evolution.

With that preamble, this vintage displays classic Old World aromas of hazelnut, lanolin and cherry pit. The palate is nicely textured from barrel fermentation, sur-lie aging and minimal processing. Expect a slow, positive evolution (this is Mount Eden, you know) over the next five or six years.