2017 Soberanes Vineyard Chardonnay - Roar Wines

Baked golden apple, warm cinnamon, lemon curd. Pineapple upside-down cake, roasted marshmallow, toasted peach. white peonies and honeysuckle, crushed clove and powdered nutmeg. Poached pear and apricot lead a boisterous procession of warm confectionery fruit generously drizzled in sensual and expressive baking spices. Light herbal tones including thyme and coriander provide a brief intermission but never fully distract from the luscious fruit. Crème brûlée, Greek Yogurt, roasted cashew, and gravely minerals add depth to the wide and voluptuous breadth, exerting tension and vivacious energy behind the full bodied and decadent exterior. Tight and young with booming acidity yet still quite expressive and forward, promising even greater pleasure in a few years despite already oozing amplified decadence. This 2017 Soberanes Vineyard Chardonnay by Roar Wines is a gorgeously opulent and unapologetically delicious Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay.

Located just miles outside the foggy coastal town of Monterey vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands experience an interesting juxtaposition of cold ocean air and warm California sunshine. This bottling, crafted by Roar Wines using Chardonnay sourced from the Soberanes Vineyard, is a terrific example of restrained decadence and subtle power that this unique region is capable of. This wine is perfectly ripe and decidedly Californian but possesses energy and structure not possible in anything but the coolest most marine influenced regions. It is simultaneously warm & bright yet tense & balanced with an underlying vigor that screams both power and sophistication. This is an absolutely remarkable Chardonnay that appeals to lovers of modern extravagance while still containing the stuffing to impress thoroughly entrenched stalwarts. Exceptionally crafted and tremendously delicious.