Sequoia Grove 2012 Chardonnay
Who would have guessed Napa Valley, a small pioneer community established during the gold rush days would flourish into one of the most prestigious wine growing regions in the world today? Surrounded by its purple hued mountains, Sequoia Grove Winery sits on 22 acres right in the heart of the valley floor in a region referred to as the “Rutherford Bench”. Here the alluvial soil, rich in minerals, combined with the fog from the bay, mingling with the warm inland temperatures create the ideal location to produce fine wine. Michael Trujillo, the Director of Winemaking and President, has been with Sequoia Grove since its beginnings joining the team in1982 and has the passion to acquire the best Napa Valley fruit available.
Opening a bottle, which are grapes mostly from Dijon and Wente clone grown in the renowned Carneros District in Napa Valley. I noticed a golden yellow color with aromas of stone fruits with a touch of citrus notes. The palate shows the fruit nicely with Asian pears and crisp delicious apples, and a jolt of citrus zest. The complex finish showed some mineral notes, sweet vanilla spice and nutty oak, which lingered very nicely. I should note that this wine did not go through malolactic fermentation in order to maintain its beautiful fruit and mineral notes.
Cheers!