TN: 2017 Ladd Cellars - Chardonnay "Cuvée Voile" (USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast)

2017 Ladd Cellars Chardonnay Cuvée Voile - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (5/12/2021)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 1.5 hours –

NOSE: high-toned; rich; lemony; reminds me of Arcadian’s Sleepy Hollow; light notes of gueuze, oak, and freshly-cut grass.

BODY: medium maize color; medium-full bodied.

TASTE: high acidity; rich; alc. not noticeable (12.8%); strongly reminiscent of Arcadian’s S.H.; light lemon; liked this a lot! Drink or Hold.

50, 5, 13, 17, 8 = (93 pts.)

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Thanks for the note Brian!

This is from two vineyards that are quite similar in character: 40+ year old vines, neutral pH sedimentary soils (my preference, esp for Chardonnay…includes Burgundy, of course) and a climate that gives ripe fruit at a low brix and high acid (both around 21 brix & 9 grams/liter TA for the 17…typical picking numbers). One vineyard is dry farmed, and the other is mostly dry farmed.

For the Sous Voile, french for “under a veil” referring to the film yeast in the barrel, over the years I’ve learned what conditions the yeast prefer to increase the chances of their appearance. The goal here is to be a nuance/background element…so this is a blend of equal parts voile and non-voile barrels. The voile has amazing aromatics in barrel…savory/floral/saline character. This is what comes through to the wine of course, esp if it gets enough air…several hours isn’t too much.

Like any yeast, the voile yeast needs to feed on something. The primary fermentation yeast (Sacc Cerevisiae) feeds on sugar, of course. The voile yeast feeds on glycerol (an alcohol that’s close to a sugar). In fact, glycerol is ~60% as sweet as sucrose!

That’s the main thing that interests me about Voile and Chardonnay: it significantly reduces the amount of sweet tasting glycerol, and allows the underlying character of the wine and vineyard to come out more.

One more thing…Sous Voile isn’t oxidative (a frequent comment about sous voile)! In fact, it’s reductive…the voile yeast consumes dissolved oxygen in the wine, and in the air/head space in the barrel. Thanks to Joe Dougherty on the WineTherapy and/or WineDisorder boards for this bit of info.

Oops, sorry for taking so long on this reply!

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Lots of good info.

Go back ten years, and I never, ever bought California Chardonnay unless it was to open Ramey for my mom. Now I buy on a regular basis from multiple producers, and unique wines like the Ladd Cuvée Voile are a big reason why.

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Thanks for chiming-in, Eric. When you say this wine will benefit from several hours of air, what do you mean by “several”? Are we talking 4? 7? 24? I’d like to handle the next bottle accordingly. [cheers.gif]

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Thank You for the tasting notes and winemaking details! My friend Michael traded me a bottle of this with a “you have to try this”. It’s still on deck with a large handful of other Chardonnays but after reading the details here I’ll definitely be opening this weekend.

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I’m on the Ladd chardonnay bandwagon. The most recent tasting note was from Falltacullar and there were 30 (?) whites and the RM BW and Ladd were standouts for me.

Posted from CellarTracker

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^ +1 to Brig. Reordered the 2014 Voile as an add on to the Berserker package Eric was offering. Hoping it’s as good as I remembered it, and I look forward to the 2017 iteration.

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I haven’t found that many California Chardonnays over the years to be particularly compelling, but the Ladd Cellars “Cuvée Voile” is definitely one that is. Eric brought a bottle of his 2018 to a dinner last month and it was excellent (don’t know if the 2018 has been released yet).

Rob’s Sandar & Hem Chardonnays from the Santa Cruz Mountains have also been exceptional.

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Thanks for all the comments and thoughts…I love them all!

My thought/suggestion on preparing the wine: Mid-day (or in the morning), pull the cork, pour out a cup of wine, or a bit less (glass pyrex measuring cups work well here), and pour it back in the bottle. Recork it and put in the fridge (or in your cellar, depending on your preference). 15-30 minutes prior to dinner, pour the bottle into a tall/narrow decanter and enjoy the evolution of the wine over the next couple/several hours.

A similar option is: an hour before dinner, pour the bottle into a tall narrow decanter. Put the decanter into the wine cellar/cooler, or in the fridge, depending on your wine temp preference, until dinner (personally, I think the wine being too cold compresses its character, but some folks like a cold glass of Chardonnay).

Sounds very very interesting for a Jura freak like me. Eric are there any danish importer?

One of very few CA Chards I buy, balance and elegance personified.

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2017 Ladd Cellars Chardonnay Cuvée Voile - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (11/10/2023)
– decanted immediately before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 1.5 hrs. –

NOSE: expressive and high-toned; apple, with a hint of butter; orange/lemon mix, with a bubblegum tail.

BODY: golden yellow color; lots of tartrate crystals present; {forgot to note weight}

TASTE: Lovely Chardonnay flavors, that lean just a little towards “fuzzy Chenin” in one sense, and lean a little “appley Manzanilla” in another; medium+ to high acidity; long finish, where the flor makes a faint, but noticeable, appearance; alc. is hidden; this continues to be absolutely stupendous! Ash gut impression score: 91. I’m still around 93. No apparent need to drink anytime soon, but it is quite pleasurable now.

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