Melville Estate Chardonnay 2013

  • 91 Robert
    Parker
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Melville Estate Chardonnay 2013 Front Bottle Shot
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Product Details


Varietal

Region

Producer

Vintage
2013

Size
750ML

ABV
14%

Your Rating

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Somm Note

Winemaker Notes

The inspiration for Inox is born out of a pursuit to capture the essence of both the vineyard and varietal in their purest form. This specific wine originates from a 1.8 acre block of clone 76 on the west side of the winery's vineyards planted on very sandy soils. Over a several week period we hand-selected only the most golden and completely ripe clusters, emphasizing the grape's richness and flavor while preserving its verve and minerality. Inox, a French term for stainless steel, continues to prove a suitable title for this wine, whose purity and precision dictate such a designation.

Jade green hued with vivid and pristine aromatics of pineapple sorbet, honeydew and lemon drops coming through initially. In the background, oceanic notes of oyster shell, sea urchin and rock salt mingle with floral tones of jasmine, hibiscus and lime blossom. The wine is taut upfront with a chiseled, crystalline like presence giving way to an oily mid-palate and a bright, vibrant finish.

Professional Ratings

  • 91
    The 2013 Chardonnay Estate Sta. Rita Hills is a smoking effort that represent a fabulous value in Chardonnay. Made in a pure, clean style, it was barrel-fermented and aged 8 months in neutral oak. It gives up serious notes of lemon, lime peel, tinges of wild herbs and salty minerality to go with a medium-bodied, balanced and elegant profile on the palate that keeps you coming back to the glass.

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Melville

Melville

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Melville, California
Melville The Story of Melville Winery Video

Melville is a family-owned, 100% estate, organic vineyard and winery in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA of Santa Barbara County.

They produce Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, and a small amount of Grenache. All their wines, from the flagship Estate

Pinot Noir to the Small Lot Collection Donna's Block Syrah, are hand-grown and hand-made 100 cases at a time.

Their founder Ron Melville carefully selected the location of the estate for its proximity to the Pacific Ocean as well as

the soil composition - predominantly sandy loam and diatomaceous earth with sections of clay. You can be too close

to the ocean and struggle with getting fruit ripe, and you can also be further away and struggle with temperatures that

are too hot...Melville is in the sweet spot.

The Melville's have been practicing responsible farming for over three decades, and since 1997 in the Sta. Rita Hills

when brothers Chad and Brent Melville planted the estate vineyards (before the AVA was formally established). They

take great pride in their commitment to "winegrowing"…working in harmony with Mother Nature to nurture their land

through organic and sustainable farming practices to ensure that all of the most crucial work is done in the vineyard.

The Sta. Rita Hills AVA is incredibly unique for a few reasons:

• It lies within a transverse mountain range, meaning that the mountains on either side of the valley are running

east-to-west from the ocean rather than north-to south. This is the only transverse mountain range in North

America.

• It has the longest growing season in North America. The growing season starts early (bud bread in late

February) and ends relatively late (Melville is often harvesting into late November) because they have a mild winter

and a cold, sunny summer. This environment of consistent "cold sunshine" allows for a long, slow ripening

and wines that showcase high acidity with ripe aromas/flavors.

Stylistically, They choose to only use neutral wood. With the vines being 25+ years old, they have reached a maturity

that Melville is proud of. The vines are creating the best fruit ever and they want their customers taste the flavors of Sta.

Rita Hills and Mother Nature in their purest form.

Stem inclusion during fermentation has been a key to Melville wines. They create aromatic lift, add tannins, and can

bring another dimension of flavor to the palate, including savoriness and spiciness. When using stems, it is important

to ensure they are fully ripe to avoid green, unpleasant, vegetal flavors. Fortunately, the Sta. Rita Hills' long growing

season allows for fully ripened stems.

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One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.

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Sta. Rita Hills Wine

Santa Barbara, California

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A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.

The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.

CHMMLV1501013_2013 Item# 134828

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