2022 Minus Tide Manchester Ridge Vineyard Chardonnay

Tasting Notes: High toned and beautifully expansive across the palate, this lemony Chardonnay has lifted notes of crème brûlée, custard, and pear. It is marked by mouthwatering salinity, a lovely quality that this site consistently brings.

Vineyard: Manchester Ridge Vineyard - Mendocino Ridge AVA, Mendocino
Perched on a ridgetop at 2,000 ft. in elevation and just 3.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean sits the stunning Manchester Ridge Vineyard. Standing at the edge of the site, with the vineyard behind you and the sea ahead, you can actually hear the waves rolling in and out down at the beach in the town of Manchester. Despite the close proximity to the coast, there is enough sun to ripen the grapes because the vineyard lies above the fog line. Yielding small clusters of approximately 2 tons per acre, this dry-farmed vineyard produces grapes with intense flavor and excellent natural acidity.

Winemaking: Native yeast. Whole-cluster pressed. Fermented in neutral French oak puncheons. Aged in neutral French oak for 14 months. Unfined and unfiltered.

Vintage: 2022 was a mild, even growing season, and through late summer, it was a picture-perfect vintage. The dry-farmed nature of our vineyards and corresponding low yields allowed us to pick before the late-season heat and early rains, resulting in a stellar vintage for our wines.

Technical Details:
Composition: 100% Chardonnay
Vineyard: Manchester Ridge
Appellation: Mendocino Ridge
Clone: 76
pH: 3.3
TA: 6.9 g/L
Brix at harvest: 21
Alcohol: 13.0%
111 cases produced

96 Points - JebDunnuck.com
"Svelte layers of honeycomb, gingerbread, apple, and pear mingle around a core of bright acidity in the 2022 Chardonnay Manchester Ridge Vineyard, which enjoys a candied textured palate of great complexity and structure. The grapes come from a 2,000-feet elevation site perched 3.5 miles from the ocean, a rugged and wild place that imparts subtle hints of sea spray in the elongated finish. An incredibly impressive wine that's ready to drink, it should do well over the next 10-12 years in bottle."

Forbes 
"For friends who think they don’t like Chardonnay:
2022 Minus Tide Manchester Ridge Vineyard Chardonnay
Minus Tide’s Chardonnay (Mendocino) is a very delicate and intricate expression with fresh, tart lemon layers, a touch of creaminess and an herbal lift. There’s some evident wood influence, but that’s a lovely soft note, not a defining character of the wine."

17.5 Points - JancisRobinson.com
"Scents of lemon and salt lead in this taut, savoury Chardonnay. It’s deeper and more flavourful on the palate, a golden-apple breadth of flavour, if that apple was spritzed with lemon juice. By day three the wine feels very complete and resolved, bright and elegant, on point for Pacific sole."