2021 Soberanes Vineyard Chardonnay
Santa Lucia Highlands AVA
Tasting Notes
“Medium yellow hue. Brilliant scents of lemon, grapefruit, and white peach unite with notes of fig, kiwi, and tangerine to provide a pleasing start to this Chardonnay. Upon taste, the characteristics flow towards grapefruit, fig, kiwi, and apple pie. The texture is undulating and lively which evolves nicely to a bright, fresh and pure finish. Enjoy now through 2031”
~Bill Brosseau, Director of Winemaking
January 2023
“Soberanes Vineyard was fairly recently-planted, as these Wente Clones are twelve years of age, but it is beautifully situated, lying next to Gary’s Vineyard that Adam Lee at Clarice Wine Company sources for one of his top bottlings of pinot noir. The 2021 Soberanes Vineyard Chardonnay from Testarossa was aged for twenty months in just over forty percent new oak and comes in at a svelte 14.2 percent alcohol. The wine’s aromatic constellation is refined and complex, offering up scents of fresh pineapple, pear, orange zest, a hint of butterscotch, beautiful soil tones, lemon blossoms and a classy framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still quite primary, with a superb core of fruit, fine soil undertow and grip, bright acids and lovely balance on the long, focused and promising finish. This lovely wine deserves three to five years in the cellar to allow its secondary layers of complexity to start to properly emerge. It will be an excellent wine once it has blossomed, but drinking it now (albeit quite enjoyable) is infanticide. (Drink between 2026-2040).” 93+ points.
John Gilman
View From the Cellar
Mar/Apr 2023 Issue
Production Data
Growers: Pisoni and Franscioni Families
Winemaker: Bill Brosseau
Appellation: Santa Lucia Highlands
Elevation/Exposure: 400 feet; East/Northeast
Soil: Rocky, sandy loam
Vineyard Age: 13 years
Viticulture Practice: Sustainable (SIP Certified)
Vinification: Pressed Whole-cluster, fermented in French Oak
Cooperage & Ageing: 14 months in 100% French Oak, 31% new
Production: 14 barrels
Composition: 100% Chardonnay (100% Wente Clone)
Acidity: 3.27 pH, 6.81 TA (g/L)
Alcohol: 14.2%
Harvest: October 4, 2021, hand harvested
Club Release: January 2023
Release Price: $55
Drink Now through 2031
Past Vintage Wine Scores
“There is richness aplenty to be found in this very deep, carefully oaked Chardonnay, yet there is also a fine spark of brightness to its step. It smells and tastes of a lovely mix of red and green apples embellished by a sympathetic dollop of crème brûlée sweetness. Fairly full in body but not in the least heavy with a supple mouthfeel and a terrifically sustained finish, it is both satisfying now and promises to age famously. It is a Chardonnay to bring out with special dinners featuring lobster or salmon served in a rich sauce.”
Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine
December 2022
“Here, again, is a standout Chardonnay that, in terms of its richness and marvelous fruity depth, is every bit the equal of its companion from the Sierra Mar Vineyard, yet it differs by being a bit firmer in structure and is, of the two, the one that more clearly asks for additional age. It is not that it is anything less than very satisfying right now, especially when poured in tandem with the likes of lobster in rich sauces or even sweet and savory duck dishes, but it promises to get even better with time, so much so, in fact, that we would lobby loudly for at least three or four years of forbearance with every expectation that it will be drinking beautifully still when twice as much time has passed.”
Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine
November 2021
“Brilliant yellow. Vibrant, mineral-accented citrus and orchard fruit aromas, along with jasmine, vanilla and chamomile flourishes. Juicy and tightly focused on the palate, offering intense Meyer lemon, pear nectar and white peach flavors that slowly unfurl through the midpalate. Shows fine definition and mineral thrust on very long, focused finish that features bitter pear skin and citrus pith notes.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni Vinous
October 2020
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“Lush and rich with tangy acidity and creamy texture; deep, lovely and balanced with great length.”
Anthony Dias Blue
April 2019
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“Here is a Chardonnay of unfettered fruity richness that a marries elements of ripe and green apples with lots of sweet oak in what is a well-balanced, slightly supple, full-bodied package that keeps on delivering through to a long and very insistently juicy finish. That it is so tasty now does not mean that it demands immediate drinking, and, as time is certain to prove, it has the unequivocal vitality and stamina of a wine that will age famously. Drink it now or wait for a few years, but, either way, it is guaranteed to please.”
Connoisseurs’ Guide
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“Brilliant green-hued straw. Smoke- and oak-spice-tinged pineapple, pear nectar and honeydew melon qualities on the deeply perfumed nose; a suave floral overtone builds as the wine opens up. Shows real intensity and strong clarity on the palate, which offers an array of densely packed tropical and orchard fruit flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. Finishes spicy, smooth and very long, with lingering orchard fruit and smoke notes and a touch of fennel.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni Vinous
November 2019
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“Lush and rich with tangy acidity and creamy texture; deep, lovely and balanced with great length.”
Anthony Dias Blue
The SOMM Journal
April 23, 2019
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“Here is a Chardonnay of unfettered fruity richness that a marries elements of ripe and green apples with lots of sweet oak in what is a well-balanced, slightly supple, full-bodied package that keeps on delivering through to a long and very insistently juicy finish. That it is so tasty now does not mean that it demands immediate drinking, and, as time is certain to prove, it has the unequivocal vitality and stamina of a wine that will age famously. Drink it now or wait for a few years, but, either way, it is guaranteed to please.”
Connoisseurs’ Guide
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“Rich and ripe with sweet oak and bright acidity; generous, lush and nicely balanced; elegant and complete; a lovely, impressive wine made from a famous vineyard in northern Monterey County; dense and long.”
Anthony Dias Blue
August 2018
“Opening with exuberant brioche, honey-nut and pineapple notes over hints of apple pie and honeysuckle, the 2015 Chardonnay Soberanes Vineyard has a refreshing palate marked by zingy acidity, cutting through the intense tropical and toasty flavors, finishing on a mineral note.”
Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
September 29, 2017
“The 2014 Chardonnay Soberanes Vineyard is a rich, textured, yet still beautifully defined and focused Chardonnay that offers lots of white peach, caramelized apple and spice aromas and flavors. It leans more towards the richer, bigger boned end of the spectrum, yet is impeccably balanced and has a great finish.”
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“This beautiful Chardonnay is dry and rather bitter on the mid palate with good acidity and balance. It’s rich and creamy.”
International Wine Review
“Fairly intense and generously fruited with a fine sense of volume right from the first, this deep and very complete Chardonnay matches ripe apples with accents of sweet hardwoods and wild flowers and is as invitingly juicy as it is impeccably balanced. There are temptations aplenty for hasty drinking, not the least of which are its richness and downright delicious fruit, but its abiding vitality is the mark of a wine sure to pay real dividends if allowed to rest for a while in cellar, and we encourage even a brief wait.”
Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine
May 2014
“Here is deep, very well-crafted look at serious Chardonnay that hits the mark smartly in both richness and balance. It leads with complex aromas of optimally ripened apples, minerals, sweet toast and subtle lees, and it follows with layered, like-minded flavors that are at once rich, wonderfully vital and very long lasting. It is an outstanding wine of a great many nicely fit pieces, and we are comfortable in predicting that a two or three years of patient cellaring will make a very good thing even better.”
Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine
January 2014
The Soberanes Vineyard
The Soberanes Vineyard is the fifth and newest vineyard in the Pisoni and Franscioni family partnership. It is located in the heart of the Santa Lucia Highlands and builds upon a tradition of high quality hand-winegrowing. Gary Pisoni says the Soberanes Vineyard is their best property to date and they are expecting great vintages from it in the future because they have been able to apply all of their experience in this new location. There are 27 acres of the Pisoni clone Pinot Noir planted and 8 acres of Chardonnay. The property is adjacent to Garys’ Vineyard with an east/northeast orientation at 400 feet in elevation. The soil is rocky, sandy loam. The vineyard was originally planted in 2008.