Sta. Rita Hills

Another stunning chardonnay from Clos Pepe! We loved our 2006 version of this wine, but it still needs five years before it will be drinking at its best. This 2007 wine, by contrast, is already delicious today. The aroma is filled with lemon and toast, and there is an alluring earthiness to it as well. The flavors are intense and the wine finishes with a real gripping minerality that draws you in. While clearly holding back all it can show at this point, this wine possesses a beguiling easiness that charms. I think this wine is lovely in a Burgundian kind of way.

The Clos Pepe Chardonnay is whole cluster pressed, we are using fewer new barrels in the process-to better show off the distinctive Clos Pepe personality. The wine is aged on it original lees for 16 months. We handle with a lot of care and is stirred regularly to help the completion of its malo-lactic fermentation.

Blend: 100% Chardonnay | Alcohol: 14.0% | Vinification: 100% Neutral French Oak | Barrel Aging: 16 Months | Total Production: 517 cases

Press Reviews

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar

“Yellow-gold. Musky peach pit and mango aromas are complicated by zesty, smoky minerals. Tightly focused citrus and dried pit fruit flavors gain a gentle sweetness and put on weight with air, picking up a juicy mango quality. Firm finishing notes of bitter pear skin, tarragon and minerals give this wine a serious aspect. I’d hold off on opening this impressively concentrated wine for another couple of years.” – JR 92 Points

2007 CLOS PEPE CHARDONNAY ONE SHEET