Deep gold color; green apple, lemon, white peach on the nose; apple, Meyer lemon, peach, hint of honey on the palate.
Dry edging toward off-dry; moderate acidity, no oak, some minerality; medium body, full and smooth in the mouth; fresh and intense fruit. This is simple chardonnay but very pleasing. I particularly am intrigued by the arrival of honey/fruit sweetness on the finish and the overall pleasing flavors.
Enate’s vineyards in northern eastern Spain are farmed using strict environmental controls: no herbicides or chemical products to combat pests or disease, all fertilizer is organic. There are many certifications in the wine world (more than 400); Enate has been certified for environmental management since 2004, for quality management since 2000, and for food safety since 2005. All the grapes in this effort were estate grown.
Somontano is a Spanish Denominación de Origen (DO) established in 1984. Grapes have been grown in the area for more than 2,000 years. The name suggests Latin roots meaning “beneath the mountain”—a reference to the foothills of the Pyrenees to the north. Zaragoza/Aragon is municipal area most would recognize, although wine production is centered in Barbastro; Enate’s offices are located in Heusca, 50 miles northeast of Zaragoza/Aragon.
Enate was founded in 1992 with a lofty vision: the marriage of the art of winemaking with the, well, art of art. From the Enate website: “In the same way as a winery is unthinkable without wine, Enate accepted art as the very essence of its identity. The two concepts begin together and mutually enrich one another. Human beings are, essentially, creators of one kind or another and we naturally love the pleasures of life. In 1992, Enate made a formal commitment to pairing the two concepts, contrasting the almost mathematical expertise of a winemaker with the unpredictability of artists inspired by winemaking. Today, Enate is both a winery and a museum. It is both a wine shop and an art gallery and its character has been formed in the excellence of both. Its barrels and walls sum up the great wines of Spain, inhabited by the genius of the great Spanish and international creators.”
Each label of the winery reproduces a work of a well-known artist, created especially for the winery. In the case of this bottle: Pepe Cerdá.
Enate Chardonnay 234 Somontano 2014 is very nice for the price pour that drinks better with each glass. Tasty, fresh, delicious. Pairs with seafood, soft cheese, smoked salmon, light finger food and as an aperitif, grilled fish, rich enough flavors to drink solo, too. $12
Enate website with nice slide show and other features
