Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay 2023
“Lots of freshness, sea-breeze as well as honeyed notes and a touch of vanilla.”
Vineyard: The grapes come from several small, organically farmed vineyard sites around the Santa Cruz Mtns. Each site brings its unique mountain micro-climate signature to the blend. The commonalites shared include a cool climate during the growing season and low nitrogren/high calcium soils, limiting yields and increasing depth and mineral concentration. Proximity to the Monterey Bay yields fresh, saline wine.
Winemaking: To start, the fruit is crushed, and one hour of skin maceration ensues. They then press extremely gently to only extract the best juice from the berries and avoid harsh tannin and higher pressures. Their extraction yields are slightly lower to prioritize the quality of the juice. From there they move the juice to neutral oak barrels before fermentation. Multiple fermentations in the barrels result in added layers of flavor and complexity. Once the wine is dry (no residual sugar), they top the barrels and age the wine sur-lie (on the lees) for 9 months. The following summer, the wine is moved to stainless tanks for two additional months to re-tighten and finish elevage before bottling.
Tasting notes: The 2023 vintage in Santa Cruz Mtns was apparently the coldest since 1982. The nose on this wine is lovely. There’s this sea-breeze, saline quality to it, as well as honeyed notes and a touch of vanilla. Mineral backbone, lively acidity, salinity, and lots of freshness. Very refreshing.
Producer…
Madson Wines
Cole Thomas founded Madson Wines in the spring of 2018, alongside Ken Swegles and Abbey Chrystal. The wines of Madson are utterly unique – nuanced, subtle, unmistakably Alpine in character, yet influenced by the vineyards’ close proximity to the Pacific Ocean.
