Rocca Family Vineyards Chardonnay 2014
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The aromas here are delicate, pretty, and deeply alluring, with a bright core of just-ripe pineapple that intertwines with scents of citrus blossoms, a touch of lemon zest and a mineral note that's reminiscent of crushed gravel. There's a lovely viscosity to the texture of this wine, and great presence on the palate, but its lively natural acidity and stoney minerality give it great purity, precision, and verve. The oak component is almost invisible here, serving only to enhance the wine's character and complexity and to leave a charismatic flourish of spice on the deliciously long finish of pineapple, citrus fruit, and rock dust.
In 1999, that dream came to fruition. A three-year search for the perfect vineyard finally yielded results: a 21-acre vineyard nestled deep in the heart of the Napa Valley, where the pair had made their home for over a decade. After renaming the new parcel The Grigsby Vineyard, Mary devoted her full attention to the new project, while Eric continued to cultivate a career as one of the nation’s most respected pain management physicians. Mary’s first years in the wine business were hectic, to say the least: With four children under the age of 13, a family grocery store on the West Marin Coast to manage, and the steep learning curve of running the world-class Grigsby Vineyard, just keeping it all together was an achievement in itself.
Mary called upon renowned winemaker Celia Welch Masyczek to produce the label’s first vintages. The debut bottling was the 2000 Syrah, a varietal which to this day garners praise and awards for the Rocca family. But Rocca really got on the map in 2002, when its Grigsby Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon came in #1 in a blind tasting of 12 Rising Star Cabernets at the Vintners Club tasting in the U.S. Later, the wine was taken with a group of 12 other Cabernets to show in France's 12 Best Cabernets from California. It came in #1 over there as well. Finally, those same 12 Cabs had another blind tasting competition in SF to see how they would rank by American consumers. We came in #1 again! Rocca’s star was rising fast.
The following year, Mary purchased the 11-acre Colinetta Vineyard, planted on a small hill in the Coombsville Appellation, several miles east of downtown Napa. These two vineyards produce some of the Valley’s finest winegrapes, and in turn, some of the Valley’s finest wines. In 2008, Celia passed the winemaking baton to Paul Colantuoni, who has continued to produce world-class wines under the Rocca label. His non-interventionist approach to winemaking allows the unique characteristics of each vineyard, and each growing season, to shine.“These sites have all of the pieces in place to make world-class wine, so my job is mainly to stand out of the fruit’s way,” he says.
Years of accolades in the press and popular opinion have established Rocca as one of the industry’s finest wine producers, a reputation the team is happy to uphold.
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.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.