Marimar Estate Acero Chardonnay

Description

Marimar Estate Acero Chardonnay is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes from Marimar Torres’ Don Miguel Vineyard in the Green Valley, only ten miles from the Pacific. It is an unoaked Chardonnay.

The owner of  Marimar Estate is Marimar Torres, the sister of Miguel Torres, patriarch and CEO of the world-famous Torres Wine company in Spain. Marimar Torres began planting vines in 1986 and it is the only Californian vineyards to be planted in the European style – there is high-density planting and the vines are planted on a southwest-facing vertical training system. The grafts are Phylloxera resistant and the planting density is 5000 vines per hectare, which is about four times more than the traditional Californian planting density. These characteristics favour competition among plants and roots, reducing yield in the plants. The vines live for longer in this way and develop more intense and elegant aromas, greater concentration of flavours and more balance. The winery concentrates mainly on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but in a nod to Marimar’s Spanish roots, a Tempranillo and an Albarino have recently been added to the portfolio.

The winery was completed in 1992 and sits on a hill surrounded by the estate vineyards. Marimar conducted much research to select several clones of each varietal: See, Rued and Spring Mountain for Chardonnay; and Cristina 88, Swan, Pommard, Lee, Dijon 115 and Dijon 667 for Pinot Noir. Each clone brings different attributes to the final blend, resulting in wines with good complexity and enjoyable flavours. Marimar’s daughter, Cristina, after whom the flagship Cristina Pinot Noir is named, joined the family business in 2020 becoming general manager in 2023.

Marimar Estate Acero Chardonnay is the estate’s unoaked Chardonnay.  This is 100% Chardonnay grapes (87% See, 8% Rued and 5% Spring Mountain clones) that are specially chosen for their intensity and aromatics. The grapes come from the estate’s Don Miguel vineyard which is located in the Green Valley — the coolest, foggiest region of the Russian River. The soils here are Sandy loam, light and well drained and are of volcanic origin and marine sediment.

After harvest the grapes are gently whole-cluster pressed and cold fermented, using Torres’ own indigenous yeast, in stainless steel tanks at 55 degrees F. After the primary fermentation, the wine undergoes 100% malolactic fermentation in the same stainless steel tanks.

Why is the wine named Marimar Estate Acero Chardonnay?

Acero is the Spanish word for steel and it refers to the fact that this wine is vinified in stainless steel and does not undergo any oak ageing. This preserves the freshness of aromas and flavours of the Chardonnay grapes.