2013 Neely Hollys Cuvee-Spring Ridge Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay

Description

2013 Neely Hollys Cuvee-Spring Ridge Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay

Neely Wine uses its own estate-grown grapes to make superb vintages of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Based on the historic Spring Ridge property in Portola Valley, the winery crafts six distinct wines from six small vineyard blocks, and two blends of each varietal. Led by winemaker Shalini Sekhar and the Neely family, each hand-harvested vintage delivers an unsurpassed performance of nuance and feeling. Their goal is to gather a community around the enjoyment of every bottle.

Critical Acclaim

97 Vinous

The 2013 Chardonnay Holly’s Cuve presents an exotic mlange of tropical-infused fruit, smoke, butter, pastry and orange blossom, all in a rich, creamy style that offers considerable near and medium-term appeal. The oily, viscous finish alone is striking. Once again I am deeply impressed with Holly’s Cuve, an absolutely stunning wine that appears to have little in common with the three Varner Chardonnays from which it is composed. Don’t ask me why that is; I don’t really know the answer. In 2013, the blend is 64% Bee Block, 29% Amphitheater Block and 7% Home Block. Bob and Jim Varner have turned out another magnificent set of wines at Varner and Neely. Vintage 2013 appears to have favored the Chardonnays – which are truly superb – over the Pinots. The Varners describe 2013 as a year with vine stress because of the drought but add that there were no heat spikes or other weather shocks. As always, the Varner Chardonnays are built on breadth, power and a sense of phenolic intensity that is one of the signatures of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Chardonnays see only about eight months in barrel and are bottled in July, but then not released for almost another year.

94 Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

The 2013 Neely Chardonnay Hollys Cuve is a blend of all three blocks. The wine shows beautiful, more buttery honeysuckle notes, orange marmalade and citrus blossom in a medium to full-bodied, ripe, luscious style that, indeed, seems to represent the other three cuves in proper proportion.