2015 Ladd Cellars Chardonnay - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (2/1/2020)
Crisp, minerally and loaded with lemon peel fruit, this is a very precise style of Chardonnay. It’s even visually precise, a gleaming light gold color with a touch of green at the rim. Long finish that hints at, but never goes to creaminess. It just powers through like a laser.
Posted from CellarTracker
The Ladd Chardonnay is really strong. One of the best in a very short time.
I picked up some on BD11, no brainer.
Hey, thanks for the note!
I love this wine, and it’s in an interesting place in its evolution. One thing to keep in mind, which I probably haven’t made clear enough is that, given enough air time, the wine opens up and has these great yellow (& green) apple aromas. Chardonnay isn’t always thought of as an aromatic wine, but in this case, at the right moment, it gives its all with fresh & precise apples.
I grew up, in the SF East Bay hills, with a Golden Delicious Apple tree in our yard…and this is what I think of.
For a long time, maybe still I’m not sure, Golden Delicious apples were thought of as the worst apples grown. As a 8+ year old kid I’d pick absolutely brilliant apples after school and eat them, but they’d stay brilliant only for a short time after being picked. Too long off the tree, even a day and they’d begin to lose everything that was wonderful about them. Much later I realized this was why folks disliked them so, from the grocery store. No problem, I’d come home and inspect the tree for the 1 or 2, or 20, apples that were perfect for picking at that moment and eat them…and regret if it was 20 apples. That’s when I began to learn the skills I needed to be a winemaker…and might be why my Chardonnay has worked as well as it has. And back then, I learned that the perfect moment for these apples to be picked was when it began to transition from being green dominant to yellow flavors, somewhere at that early edge, and if it was timed right, you could get everything that was great about both a green and a yellow apple.
When my Mom passed away, I was in charge of selling the house, and the apple tree was still there and in good shape and producing…as far as I know, it still is. Since then, I’ve sort of avoided going by there to check tho.
I just realized I was a bit vague with ‘given enough air time’…typically this shows up the next day (I often open a bottle for a glass with dinner and in the fridge til the next night). I’m guessing that opening in the morning and giving a bit of air would have the same effect (haven’t tried it…will have to). As David points out, it drinks well on pop and pour. Thanks.