2015 Mail Road Wines Mt. Carmel Vineyard Chardonnay

Mail Road Wines in the Sta. Rita Hills is a new collaboration between Mount Carmel Vineyard owners Ronald Piazza and Michael Palmer, and winemaker Matt Dees. Dees is winemaker at Jonata, and has also made wine at Staglin in Napa Valley and in New Zealand. Mount Carmel Vineyard is at 800 to 1,000 feet above sea level, with steep, south facing slopes. Its grapes are in great demand, and have been primarily sold to Brewer-Clifton. Mail Road Wines is a label for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Ratings have been as high as 97 pts from Wine Advocate. The wines are available primarily by mailing list.

Central Coast AVA is a huge wine producing area that extends from Santa Barbara County in the south to San Francisco in the north. With more than 100,000 vineyard acres, it includes parts of six counties near the Pacific Ocean. Nearly 20 smaller AVAs lie within the Central Coast AVA. Central Coast earned appellation status in 1985. Included in the appellation are parts of the counties of Contra Costa, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz. Nearly every grape varietal grown in California is grown somewhere in the Central Coast AVA, though Chardonnay accounts for nearly 50% of the entire wine grape crop.

This white variety originated in Burgundy, but is now grown around the world. Its flexibility to thrive in many regions translates to wide flavor profile in the market. Chardonnay is commonly used in making Champagne and sparkling wines.