2018 Chardonnay Martinelli Road

Tasting with the Martinelli family over Zoom is not exactly the same thing as being there in person, with the whole family assembled. Even so, this tasting was a great opportunity to taste through the new releases, as always in four flights: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Zinfandel. Winemaker Courtney Wagoner describes 2018 and 2019 as pretty similar years until heat at the end of 2019 caused a large number of vineyards to ripen at the same time. In tasting, the Martinelli wines have all the textural richness and sumptuousness they always have, but with a bit more detail and freshness. That is especially true of the Syrahs, which are picked just a bit earlier and given more time in barrel to soften, but with no new oak for the last six months or so of aging. Ultimately, so much of the focus here is on land that any tasting is just as much about vineyards, exposures, clones and farming methods as it is about wine. In that regard, Martinelli remains unique and a real crown jewel in California.