Showing items 1
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Diatom 2007 Huber Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills)
- $48
This unoaked Chardonnay, tasted in October, had bright, tingly acidity that was almost effervescent, a trait that should disappear by the time this review appears. Even without oak influences, it’s a tremendously satisfying wine, brimming with pineapple pie filling, Meyer lemon custard and peppery spice flavors. Might even age.
— S.H.
(2/1/2009)
Diatom 2007 Clos Pepe Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills)
- $42
You don’t usually think of tannins in Chardonnay, but somehow they assert themselves in this dry, dusty wine. That may be because it’s unoaked, which leaves unexplained how it gets all that creamy, smoky, vanilla-infused richness. It’s very delicious, and brims with tropical pineapple, golden mango, lime and honeysuckle flavors.
— S.H.
(2/1/2009)
Diatom 2009 Huber Vineyard Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills)
- Online Exclusive
- $48
This is the richest of Diatom’s 2009 unoaked Chards. It’s wildly expressive in tangerines, white truffles and honey, braced with a pleasing minerality. The alcohol is quite high, but an integral part of the wine’s oily, glyceriney mouthfeel.
— S.H.
(2/1/2011)
Diatom 2007 Babcock Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills)
- $48
Diatom is Greg Brewer’s (Brewer-Clifton, Melville) audacious concept of crafting single-vineyard Chardonnays that are unoaked, or occasionally see a barrel at least five years old. The theory is to let the terroir shine. The Babcock is the lushest, more opulent of his three new releases. It shows fine acidity and firm minerality, but is really marked by lemondrop…
— S.H.
(2/1/2009)
Diatom 2009 Babcock Vineyard Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills)
- Online Exclusive
- $48
You can find almost anything you want in this intricate wine, it’s that complex. Shows brilliant lucidity and a simple purity, like a Japanese garden. The mineral, wet stone, Asian pear, honey tangerine and lime flavors are so unctuous, it’s hard to believe the wine saw no oak.
— S.H.
(2/1/2011)
Diatom 2005 Huber Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills)
- $42
Whatever your feelings on the 16.2% alcohol might be, this wine is an achievement. Compared to Diatom’s Clos Pepe bottling, this one’s more citrusy, and certainly more acidic, which helps balance the alcohol. The lemon drop flavor detonates on the palate with an almost searing intensity that stimulates the salivary glands, and while the finish is bone dry, it has a…
— S.H.
(4/1/2007)
Diatom 2009 Drum Canyon Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills)
- Online Exclusive
- $36
A transparent, translucent Chardonnay whose pure fruit and minerals star. It’s unoaked and did not undergo the malolactic fermentation. Shows delicate but complex layers of lime, orange blossom, Asian pear and lychee, framed in crisp acidity and finishing long and spicy.
— S.H.
(2/1/2011)
Showing items 1
through 7 of
7
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