La Crema has been voted Best Chardonnay in the 2013 NorthBay biz readers poll.
For more than 30 years, La Crema has explored California’s coastal appellations, starting at the estate’s foggy vineyards in Russian River Valley. Since its founding, it’s added exciting cool-climate vineyards north in the rugged hills of Mendocino, south along the wind-swept slopes of Los Carneros and, most recently, the wind-swept hillside vineyards of Monterey.
Centered always on the dual lens of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, La Crema looks for one unifying factor at these exceptional sites: coastal wind and fog that lets the grapes ripen slowly on the vine, developing intensely complex aromas and flavors while retaining firm acid structure.
Winemaker Elizabeth Grant-Douglas and her team seek to express terroir by capturing the unique personality and flavor profile of the vineyards. The La Crema winemaking regime is infused with a highly personal touch that combines the best of traditional Burgundian winemaking techniques with a contemporary California style.
Grant-Douglas employs time-intensive techniques, including hand harvesting grapes in the cool early morning hours and treating the fruit very gently from vine to press to ensure the delicate clusters arrive in prime condition. To best capture fresh fruit character, a gentle whole-cluster press is used for Chardonnay to minimize bitter compounds from skins, seeds and stems. La Crema Chardonnays are fermented in French and American oak, with the lees hand-stirred twice per month to create a round, rich texture on the palate. Both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are aged primarily in French oak. Barrels are carefully chosen with specific grain and toast levels for each separate wine lot to ensure a balanced mingling of fruit and other characteristics. At bottling time, minimal fining and filtration ensure the purity of varietal expression in the glass.
La Crema’s current releases include five distinct Chardonnays. The 2011 Russian River Valley Chardonnay is a true regional blend sourced from vineyards throughout the appellation. Given the overall cool conditions of this vintage, 2011 was the year for the relatively warmer vineyards near Chalk Hill to shine. They provided rich, lush elements of baked pear and yellow apple, which are balanced by the bright citrus and juicy acidity of the Santa Rosa bench vineyards. A variety of clones added further complexity to the blend.
The 2011 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay vineyards offer an unusually long, cool and even growing season, making the Chardonnay grapes beautifully aromatic, citrus-laced and layered. Perhaps the winery’s most popular release, this wine opens with an interplay of lively citrus and subtle toasted oak, laced with just a bit of butterscotch. The palate is round and nutty, with flavors of yellow apple and orange adding lushness, while well-balanced acidity creates a lovely vibrancy. La Crema also produces Chardonnays from Monterrey and Arroyo Seco. As of mid-April, the 2010 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is also still available in limited quantities at the La Crema Tasting Lounge, located just off the square in downtown Healdsburg.
