Brewer-Clifton ""Mount Caramel"" Chardonnay, Santa Rita Hills Varietal: Chardonnay Vintage: 2007 Bottle Size: 750 ml Rating:  96 Quantity: Out of Stock Price: $68.00 Currently out of stock. From Robert Parker: "Two brilliant young winemakers, Greg Brewer and Steve Clifton, are symbolic of both the present and future of California high quality wine production. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, with their own personal visions of wine quality formed by French and Italian experiences as well as their belief in the cool climate sites of Santa Rita Hills, they have proven time and time again that remarkable wines can emerge from this relatively new viticultural region.  Their Chardonnays, which go through full malolactic fermentation, see very little new oak (usually one-third, but that has been declining in every vintage), and they are moving in the direction of almost 100% neutral or older wood casks. The wines are not fined or filtered, have high alcohols, and also possess extraordinary freshness and acidity because of their terroirs. When I visited this year, Brewer and Clifton surprised me by opening a 1996 Chardonnay Sweeney Canyon, a 13-year old California Chardonnay that was as young and vibrant as any two or three-year old white Burgundy. It remains a subtle white wine with great complexity, freshness, and not a trace of oxidation or fatigue.  I rated it 94 points, and it seemed to get even better over the course of the several hours I spent with them.  This should not have surprised me as the first wines I purchased from Brewer-Clifton were the 2000 Chardonnays, which are as vibrant as they were when I took delivery of them upon release.  There are five Chardonnays being produced at this estate, none of them large productions, with most of the single vineyard cuvees ranging between 1,500 and 5,800 bottles." The 2007 Chardonnay Mount Carmel exhibits a liqueur of rocks-like component reminiscent of a Chassagne-Montrachet grand cru.  Peach blossom, white citrus, and orange notes are present in this full-throttle, intensely flavored Chardonnay, and brilliant acidity gives the wine laser-like precision.  This is another tour de force from these talented winemakers.