From the Clos Pepe website:

2005 Clos Pepe Chardonnay: With some CA Chardonnay reaching or exceeding 16% alcohol, I wanted to make a statement with this wine. On a day in early October, 2005, I journeyed into the estate Chardonnay vines to taste and take a lab sample. The flavors screamed now, but the numbers said wait. But numbers don’t drink wine, and I decided I may never again get the 2005 combination of flavor and ripeness at such low sugar levels. I pulled the trigger and am thrilled I did. The wine is just over 12.5% alcohol with screaming acidity that begs for Oysters, ripe cheese or anything in a cream sauce. You can drink a bottle of this wine with friends and still have the wherewithal to operate a corkscrew and open a bottle of red. If soft, buttery Chards are your thing, run away NOW. But if Chablis and Alsace float your boat, welcome to a Chardonnay that doesn’t only break the mold, it strips the enamel off of it first. Green apple, peach skin and grapefruit dominate the nose with enough acidity and minerals to make you think you’re tumbling pebbles and citrus rind in your mouth. By far the leanest and most age-worthy ‘Homage to Chablis’ Chardonnay we’ve ever made. We dare you to call it ‘New World’. This wine will last a very long time under proper storage conditions: try it between 3-5 years, but save a few just in case it matures as slowly as I imagine. (554 views)

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