Ancient Peaks Chardonnay 2020
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Wilfred
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Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The 2020 Chardonnay offers floral, tropical aromas of papaya and banana with hints of pear. A round, luscious texture fills the mouth with flavors of pineapple and honeydew melon, with trailing notes of fresh citrus and minerality. Sweet notes of vanilla spice linger on a soft, elegant finish.
The smooth, rounded character of the 2020 Chardonnay is made to be versatile with food. Suggested pairings include steamed lobster, oven-baked salmon, chicken with lemon butter, and grilled snapper with tropical fruit salsa.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
From Paso Robles’ southern-most subregion, which is also one of its coolest, this unctuous Chardonnay offers up a dollop of lemon crème fraîche and buttered pecan. Well textured and delicious, with bright notes of pineapple and lime chiffon set against distinctive seashell minerality.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2020 Ancient Peaks Chardonnay speaks well with a fine and persistent presence on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits aromas and flavors of candied citrus, dried herbs, and savor spices. Try it with a mildly-spiced Clam Udon. (Tasted: October 9, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
Other Vintages
2022-
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Wilfred
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Wilfred
Wong
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Tasting
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Wilfred
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Wilfred
Wong
We are a family-owned winery specializing in estate-grown wines from Margarita Vineyard, the southernmost vineyard in the Paso Robles appellation on California’s Central Coast.
Just look at a map of Paso Robles wineries and at the very southern tip you will find our Vineyard. Here, amid the rugged Santa Lucia mountain range just 14 miles from the Pacific Ocean, Margarita Vineyard stands alone as the only vineyard in its vicinity, and thus the only vineyard to benefit from the extraordinary growing conditions of the area. Margarita Vineyard resides in the historic Santa Margarita Ranch, which was first planted to vines by Franciscan missionaries in 1774.
Ancient Peaks and Margarita Vineyard are owned by three longtime local winegrowing families—the Filipponis, Rossis and Wittstroms—who are actively involved in the daily operations of the vineyard and winery. Ancient Peaks wines are crafted under the guidance of Mike Sinor, a local winemaking veteran and one of the highest-rated winemakers on the Central Coast.
Ancient Peaks implements numerous sustainable viticultural practices to ensure natural quality in their wines while protecting the rich, native environment surrounding the Margarita Vineyard. Their practices have earned SIP (Sustainability in Practice) Certification for Margarita Vineyard, the leading standard for viticultural sustainability.
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.
Composed of steep mountain slopes of ancient Salinas River origins at 900 to 1,400 feet in elevation, Santa Margarita Ranch is in the southern portion of the greater Paso Robles AVA.