La Crema Monterey Chardonnay 2021 (California)

The winery's original name, La Crema Vinera, means “best of the vine,” setting the standard for all they've done since 1979. The family-owned and operated winery focuses exclusively on cool-climate appellations, continually exploring these very special regions - passionate in their belief that they make uniquely expressive and elegant wines.

The Monterey AVA consists of a long valley stretching from the uniquely cold Monterey Bay to the far Southeast reaches of the Salinas Valley. An ever-present breeze and maritime influence rise from the ocean cooling wide expanses of rolling vineyards. The fruit for this wine is sourced from multiple vineyards across the Monterey AVA including their Gravel-stone and Clark estate vineyards. Vineyards located in North Monterey bring juicy fruit notes while the vineyards in the South bring riper fruit flavours.

Following a relatively dry winter, the 2021 growing season in Monterey was for the most part cool. The marine layer was pretty much constant in Monterey this year when other parts of the state were clear and hot. The resulting cool temperatures gave a long growing season where ripening progressed slowly. Despite some late summer heat spikes the Chardonnay crop in Monterey ripened very slowly, harvest began on October 10th some ten days later than in 2020. The long hang time our Chardonnay crop enjoyed in 2021 gave us wines with great flavour intensity and vibrant yet balanced acidity.

After the grapes were picked, they were gently pressed and allowed to settle for 24 hours before being racked to a mix of French and American oak barrels for fermentation. 15% of the barrels were con-inoculated with a house strain of malolactic bacteria which were later used to top of the remainder of the barrels after primary fermentation was completed. A small portion of the wine was racked to stainless steel tanks for fermentation which added an element of juicy acidity and aromatics to the finished wine. Lees were stirred monthly to increase complexity and mouthfeel. The finished wine was aged for five to six months in oak barrels before final blending and bottling.