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Monday, May 17, 2021

Diora La Splendeur du Soleil Chardonnay





2018 Diora La Splendeur du Soleil Chardonnay...$14.99
Compare to $21.99 at Total Wine and More
Aromas of smoked apple, red pear and chamomile show on the nose of this bottling. There's a flashy sizzle of acidity on the palate, where pineapple, Asian pear, toast and white peach make for a rich, creamy expression.
Rated 91/100 The Wine Enthusiast

More info and fun facts
Named for the golden hills of the Santa Lucia Mountain Range that frames our family-owned San Bernabe Vineyard in Monterey, Diora is inspired from “d’Or,” the French phrase meaning “golden” and bestowed on beautiful, sun-filled regions. No effort has been spared along Diora’s 30-year journey from vineyard-to-bottle. The result is an expressive wine overflowing with flavor, depth and personality and a devotion to indulgence.

This wine comes from the Limestone Ridge area in block 218 at our San Bernabe Vineyard. Within this block, there are three clones of Chardonnay: 1) # 4 (one of the more prevalent California clones giving the wine nice apple and tropical fruit notes). 2) Clone 95, a newer Dijon clone, adds a nice lime component and 3) Clone 76 provides some stone fruit to balance the flavors. The underlying limestone lens in this block produces wine with great minerality, giving nice texture which will age for many years. The Santa Lucia Highlands portion comes from our own vineyard at the northern end of the appellation. This particular vineyard is predominantly Clone 4, with some smaller amounts of Dijon clones.

This wine was aged in 100% French barrels, of which approximately 89 % were once used French oak barrels. The Damy Vosges long-toast barrels gives the wine some nice length with some slight char notes. The Cadus barrels gives the wine some nice vanilla sweetness and depth. A few Vicard barrels were also used for sweetness.

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