Wine Spectator
Clean, pure and refreshing, with lively citrus, green apple, floral and spice notes that are full-bodied and a touch pithy. Well-balanced and complex on the finish. Drink now through 2015. –JL
YEAR: 2008
PRODUCTION: 2,513
REVIEWS:
Issue #196 The Mount Eden 2008 Chardonnay Saratoga Cuvee flows from the glass with layers of juicy, varietal fruit. A sweet harmonious finish rounds things out in style. The Saratoga Cuvee is made from the estate’s more forward wines in barrel and is meant to be approachable early. It is a gorgeous, reasonably priced wine from Mount Eden. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2014. Robert Parker Jr's The Wine Advocate
TASTING NOTES:
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.
TECH NOTES:
- Yield: 3.1 tons per acre
- Harvest: September 1st-11th
- Numbers @ Harvest: 23.5° Brix, 8.2 grams acidity, 3.43 pH
- Barrel Regimen: French Burgundy 1/3rd new 2/3rds 1-3 years; 100% barrel fermented; 100% Malolactic; aged 9 months
- Bottling: July 2009; lightly filtered
- Alcohol: 14%
