Diatom, Clos Pepe Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills

Diatom · California › Sta. Rita Hills › United States of America

White · Chardonnay

Critics

91 /100

Reviews

professional

Vintages

No vintages

No vintage-specific entries have been added for this wine.

Community Reviews

Reviews

90.9

Avg Score

Highest

A well-aged Diatom chardonnay. Surprisingly light color. Flavors of tart lemon plus a touch of grapefruit, this is crisp and enjoyable, with mouth-watering acidic flow on the finish. Was this better a few years ago? I expect so, however, this bottle was just recently purchased from a wine store’s bargain bin, so its storage since 2009 is uncertain (though I expect this came from a somewhat recent cellar purchase by the store).

2009 vintage

Thewine is drinking much better now that five or six years ago when I tried it. I thought it was really way too harsh and unappealing so I waited and it is come together nicely. I know the goal is to make a Chablis Style wine, but this has got more citrus than Stone, and more lime than limestone. It's still very interesting and Light, flavorful and refreshing. Glad I have, a couple more bottles to open over the next …

2009 vintage

So this was interesting (in a good way). Still drinkinking with appreciable brightness. Had a grapefruit citrus feel on the palate. Pretty enjoyable.

2009 vintage

WIML91 Tasted non blind. Light yellow color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of spice, lemon and yellow pear. Flavors of earth, pear and a hint of cherry. Medium acidity, full bodied. Drink or hold. Kind of an odd wine to me.

2009 vintage

this wine is like a like a good chassange-montrachet, mixed with a chablis with just too much alcoholheat. I like the wine alot but won´t buy it again.

2009 vintage

Non formal nite. Delicious.

2009 vintage

Zuli visit; 11/28/2012-12/2/2012 : This wine was PnP out of the fridge. Clear, with medium lemon color fading to a watery rim. The nose is developing, with med intensity aromas of apricot, tangerine, slate, and lemon zest. The palate shows a dry wine with med body and med alcohol (the label states 14.7%, which is unbelievable). This wine haas med(+) intensity flavors of tart green apple, lime, chalk, and a mild spice, with crazy med(+)/hi acidity (from a Calif wine?), …

2009 vintage

Drank over 90 min. More overtly alcoholic than in previous vintages. Still a fresh, tense balance between green fruits and chalky, mineral notes throughout the nose and palate. Nice body and finish.

2009 vintage

Drank over 90 minutes with oysters and then with scallops, creme fraiche and (American) caviar. Got the pineapple, lots of lemon and mineral, but a CRAZY seashore taste with the caviar. Good crazy, but nothing I've ever experienced before. Delicious wine, too bad my last bottle.

2008 vintage

Burg Dinner At The Murray Casa (The Murray's) : I used this as a ringer within a white chablis flight, up against Fevre Clos and Servin Blanchot. Uh, ouch. It didn't fit all that well, as within this context, it was a bit clunky, richer and lacked definition. It got the same chill and aeration as the french wines. Orange blossom, lime and good acid but in this lineup, it was outclassed.

2009 vintage

Huge! It really is like a Grand Cru Chablis on steroids, amazing acidity and flavour intensity. Possibly more impressive than enjoyable though.

2009 vintage

Drank this with a 2005 DuMol RRV Chardonnay. These wines are diametrically opposed to one another, and I believe their individual winemakers each had completely opposite goals for the finished product. The Diatom was crisp, sharp and angular; the nose giving up little, but green granny smith and some pear notes, while on the palate the asian pear was perfectly balanced by great acid. The wine had depth and finish and was a great match for food. The DuMol was …

2009 vintage

While not a bad wine, this was ranked third out of the three Diatom Chardonnays I tried today.

2009 vintage

Aromas of lime and minerals lead to the crisp pineapple and pink grapefruit flavors on the palate. Focused, precise and clean and very persistent. Some lemon and green apple on the finish.

2009 vintage

Lime and mineral aromas followed bt pineapple notes and essence of pink grapefruit. Crisp and angular with a minimalist quality that makes this a unique and mysterious chardonnay. Very enjoyable.

2009 vintage

Medium golden yellow. Exotic yellow fruit- pineapple and pears on the nose. Very pure and refined. Pineapple, pear and lemon curd on the palate. Striking acidity and long aftertaste. Wonderful!!

2008 vintage