Home Wine U The Buzz Wine Reviews   Review Archive   Rating System Calendar Fun Stuff About Us Key Contacts Search FAQ Links		May 2007 Wine Tasting Notes: 2005 Costa de Oro, Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley. This wine is Golden straw colored with good clarity. Medium intensity butterscotch aromas introduce the wine. Bright, medium intensity citrus and tropical aromas follow. Light creamy and mineral notes are present. The palate starts wiht medium intensity flavors of candied lemon-lime. Light mineral and pineapple follow. A pleasingly dry and mineral mouthfeel of this lighter bodied wine is built around brisk acids. Well-proportioned alcohol levels fit seamlessly into the composition. A long finish of citrus flavors ends with mineral notes. Cumulative Score: 93 breakdown 14.2% Alcohol $20.00 Retail (from winery);        Production volume unknown. Absolutely dry, absolutely refreshing and absolutely food-friendly, this elegant wine offers a well-balanced composition of fruit on a core of nicely intertwined acids and minerals. Drink now, on a hot summer day or with food over the next 6 to 8 years with proper cellaring.  Pair with Pecan Crusted Halibut       Detail Tell a friend about this wine Cite this review More Costa de Oro reviews. More about the Santa Maria Valley AVA 100% Gold Coast Vineyard fruit. Chardonnay, the white grape of Burgundy, can range from subtle to distinct – depending on winemaking style. Its best examples come from cooler climates. Also called Beaunois and Morillon, it displays crisp aromas and flavors of apples, apricots, citrus, peaches, pears as well as tropical fruit. Floral notes of acacia are also common. Terroir can gain distinct expression in the form of flint, mineral or mint characteristics. The small, thin-skinned Chardonnay grapes tend  to make wines that express traits acquired during vinification. such as: butter or cream, vanilla and hazelnuts. Chardonnay also is apt to take on oak characteristics during barrel aging. Perhaps this characteristic may be the reason for the current departure from an overly oaky style which was initially intended to mimic great Burgundian whites. (read more) Planted in 1989 by the Burk and Espinola families, the 30 acre Gold Coast Vineyard supplies the core of Costa de Oro’s Chardonnay and Pinot Noir programs. It is located some six miles east of Santa Maria, on Foxen Canyon Road at a place called Fulgar’s Point which is on the western bank of the Santa Maria river, across from the Bien Nacido Vineyard. This is not too far from the Garey township and the vineyard of the same name in the mid-western part of the Santa Maria Valley AVA – near the confluence of the Santa Maria, Sisquoc and Cuyama Rivers. 19 acres of Pinot Noir (Martini clone cuttings from Sierra Madre Vineyard and Dijon clones 115 and 777 from Le Bon Climat Vineyard) and 11 acres of Chardonnay (USD 4 and Wente clones from the Sierra Madre Vineyard) are vertically trellised and planted on well-drained sandy loam soils of the bluff at Fulgar’s Point. The 2005 year saw an increase in crops over the preceding years. The year is being compared to the acclaimed 1997 vintage because of a very long and generally cool growing season without heat spikes. This long season resulted in extended hang times in even temperatures which gave the fruit good extraction but lower sugar levels. The slow ripening of the fruit is expected to make for elegance and balance in the wines of this vintage. Wine maker Gary Burk has come full circle to his roots. He left home to study business at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and then moved on to Los Angeles to pursue his passion in music as a guitarist. During Gary’s time in Los Angeles, his father and Bob Espinola planted Gold Coast Vineyard. A dinner during Gary’s 1993 visit home changed everything: He met Jim Clendenen (Au Bon Climat) and Bob Lindquist (Qupé). At that time, Gary was already helping sell fruit form his family's Gold Coast Vineyard. Whatever was said during that dinner changed the trajectory of Gary’s life. Obviously bitten by the wine bug, he moved back to Santa Maria and spent eight years (from 1994 to 2002) working with Clendenen and Lindquist as assistant winemaker. He also was involved in marketing those two labels. Over the years, he grew his label’s production and in 2002 he left Au Bon Climat/Qupé to focus on Costa De Oro. Currently, Costa de Oro produces some 6000 cases of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinto Noir annually at the Central Coast Wines Services facility in Santa Maria. In striving to make “wines with balance, elegance and texture, reflecting Old World style and terroir of the vineyard”, Gary borrows on his musical experience saying: “.both rely on a blending of technique, artistry and feel". Color  5 points Nose  4 points Palate  3 points Finish  4 points Astringency/Minerality  5 points Acidity  5 points Alcohol  5 points Aging potential  3 points Overall quality  9 points Rating System explained Back to top Tell a friend about this wine! Your name: Your e-mail: Your friend's name: Your friend's e-mail: Your message: 100 character limit Send me a copy of this email redwinebuzz.com respects your privacy. The information you enter here will not be used to send unsolicited mail and, in accordance with our Privacy Policy, it will not be disclosed to any third party. Back to top. 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