Trail Marker Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains 2019

Trail Marker is a tiny gem of a family winery focusing on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Santa Cruz Mountains and Mendocino Ridge made in a classic, old-world way. Born in 2012 with the goal of working with cooler, coastal sites to produce wines with finesse and delineation, they have a “hands-off” winemaking approach and use little or no new oak.

The Santa Cruz Chardonnay comes from two sites at approximately 800ft above sea level. The wine is produced using very natural techniques and is aged 13 months in neutral, French oak. A great mid-weight Chardonnay full of flavor. Practicing organic. 

VM93-95: The 2019 Chardonnay (Santa Cruz Mountains) is mostly Chapel with a bit of declassified Quink. It might also be the most complete Chardonnay in the range. We will see once all the wines are in bottle. For now, the purity of the flavors is striking, Lemon peel, mint, white pepper, crushed rocks and dried herbs all race out of the glass. Vivid and finely cut, the 2019 dazzles right out of the gate, even as a barrel sample shipped across the country.