I was out at lunch on the Sonoma Square yesterday given the fact that it was flooding conditions the square was pretty dead, so we decided to check out a couple of Tasting Room rooms on the Square rather than driving out to any vineyards. Honestly, I love the experience of Sonoma, but I’m not a huge fan of California wines overall, despite having worked at California wineries when I was starting my career in wine. I went in with generally low expectations. This producer however blew me away. They specialize in coastal wines that are 11%-12% abv. When’s the last time you had an 11% California Chardonnay!?
The Mariah Vineyard Chardonnay has SCREAMING acidity that a Riesling, Gruner or Albariño lover would love! This particular wine was 12.5% abv. Which was their highest Abv production. The saltiness from its coastal presence, along with a bright Meyer lemon were most noticeable, but there was a round palette, indicative of the tiny amounts of new oak being used.
The Pinot Noir was young, yet still had depths of black berry, sour cherry, rhubarb, tobacco but was mostly mineral driven with notes of chalky soil, flint and granite.
These wines gave me hope for the future of Sonomas winemaking!
by Top_Wear_4231