Chaine d'Or (Golden Chain) is the nickname given to the Santa Cruz Mountains by Paul Masson. It's also the name of a small winery nestled in the hills above Woodside. For the past 20 years they have produced around 400 cases a year of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from their small estate vineyard.The 2006 vintage was the last to be made by founding winemaker Anne Anderson. It's a nice, light, fruity Chardonnay. It's buttery, but not overly so, and it's lightly oaked. When first opened there was an aroma of pears; as it warmed up the vanilla of the oak became more evident. On the palate it's very fruity, with hints of apple, pear and pineapple. The finish is mouthwatering, showing the acidity and a hint of oak. Good value at $18.
Sadly there won't be a 2007 vintage - the fruit was all sold to Clos LaChance. However the new winemaker, Paul Romero, plans to resume production with the 2008 vintage.
5 comments:
And the 2007 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay from Clos LaChance is KILLER! :-)
Cheryl
"Always Selling"
Clos LaChance Wines
I'm glad you found Chaine D'or!
I found them at Vintners Fest one year and loved their cabs & chard. (And I don't typical DO chard.)
Sorry they sold all their fruit, such nice folks up there. I will look forward to the new winemakers efforts though.
Cheers!
I've known about Chain D'Or chard for several years when my winemaking buddy raved about their affordable chard and how friendly they were. Somewhat bummed they're bowing out of the chard making biz.
They aren't bowing out, just skipping a vintage. Paul didn't want to take on too much all at once, so something had to give. There should be a Chaine d'Or Chardonnay in 2008.
There will be a 2008 Chardonnay from Chaine d'Or! The fruit looks excellent this year and we should harvest in just about 3 weeks.
My plans right now are to label about 1/2 of the wine "Chaine d'Or, Estate Vineyard" as Anne and Jerry have always done with the traditional gold label, and 1/2 will be labeled "Stefania Wine, Chaine d'Or Vineyard", with our view of the mountains label.
The lots will be identical, no difference in the two wines other than the labels, and they will be priced the same. The Chaine d'Or will be distributed locally and the Stefania will go to our mailing list customers and distributors in New York City and Las Vegas.
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