Mount Eden Vineyards is a small historic wine estate perched at 2000 feet overlooking Silicon Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountain Appellation, about 50 miles south of San Francisco. Founded in 1945, it is recognized as one of the original “boutique” California winery properties, focusing on small lots of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Mount Eden’s lineage of estate bottled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is the longest in California. Planted in austere, infertile Franciscan shale on a cool exposed mountaintop, these low-yielding estate vineyards have consistently produced world-class wines for over seventy years.

Winemakers notes at release: Fall 2023 Drought returned for our 2020 vintage and is forever on our minds. We dry farm here, and water, or the lack thereof, is always a concern. The new normal in these warm, dry years is accelerated ripening; we completed our Chardonnay harvest by the end of August. Classic aromas of citrus, honeysuckle and a nuance of hazelnut are abundant. Focused acidity and linear flavors of lemon, cardamom and minerality come through on the palate. Of course, this Chardonnay is extremely enjoyable now, but aging in a good cellar for ten years will bring its own reward.