Why Some of the Best Chardonnay Is Made at High Altitude

By: Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen

Welcome to The Oeno Files, our insider’s guide to fine wine. Each week Robb Report's wine editors Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen explore the people, trends, and bottles every oenophile should know.

As wine lovers’ taste in Chardonnay has moved from ripe and buttery to lean and racy, higher-acid, more-flavorful versions have come into vogue. Some of the best from California’s prime regions have one thing in common: They are cultivated on mountainside sites at high altitude. A combination of factors including challenging growing conditions, less water, sun-filled days—often above the fog line—and cooler nights creates more intensity of flavor and imparts vivid acidity that have become the hallmark of the best Chardonnays around. While some Chardonnay was originally planted at higher elevation because growers preferred valley floor vineyards for their prized Cabernet Sauvignon, mountain Chardonnay has proven to be an enduring style that has set new standards for the wine world. 

“Elevation does many things for our Chardonnay,” says Katie Vogt, winemaker at Pahlmeyer in Napa Valley. “The two factors that are the most important are the soil composition and where the vineyards sit above the fog line.” Pahlmeyer Chardonnay is made mostly with grapes from three vineyards on Atlas Peak: Stagecoach, which sits at 1,750 feet above sea level, Waters Ranch, with an altitude of 2,100 feet, and Antica Estate, located at 1,600 feet. Vogt likes Atlas Peak because it brings what she calls “the best of both worlds,” mountain soils that are rocky and shallow, directly impacting water holding capacity and vigor, and coastal influence, offering the cooling effects from nearby San Pablo Bay.

Farther north in Napa Valley, winemaker Chris Carpenter crafts La Jota W.S. Keyes Vineyard Chardonnay from a privileged site on Howell Mountain that rises from 1,600 to 1,825 feet. Explaining that Chardonnay needs cooler conditions to do well, Carpenter points out that in Napa, that restricts winemakers to the southern part of the valley close to the bay or to very specific spots in the mountains. He attributes his wine’s well-preserved acidity, strong flavor accumulation, and “incredible energy” to the mountain’s diurnal shift, or temperature difference between day and night. Days are warm thanks to constant sun at this position above the fog line, while things cool down quickly in the early evening because of the not-so-distant bay. Although it is mainly cool nights that maintain acidity and freshness, keeping the Chardonnay from becoming overly ripe, being above the fog line is of utmost importance to develop full flavors. While daily fog is a blessing to grapes in otherwise warmer valley-floor vineyards, “in a cool vintage, that extra sunshine becomes very valuable,” Vogt tells Robb Report.  

Over the mountains in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley, the Alexander Mountain Estate vineyards are planted with Chardonnay starting at 800 feet and rising to around 1,800 feet above sea level in the Upper Barn Vineyard. Winemaker Kristina Shideler explains that most of these vineyards sit within the inversion layer—meaning they are covered with fog in the early part of the day—which offer a cooling effect and indirect sunlight into mid-day. “The mesoclimate this creates is absolutely critical to our ability to grow Chardonnay that retains acidity and nuance in the otherwise warmer climate of the Alexander Valley,” she says. Shideler also points out that plantings at elevation also benefit from complex soil types that exist from the tectonic and volcanic activity that formed the mountains millions of years ago. “While the valley floor is vastly alluvial, the soils at elevation are gravelly, containing parent material from volcanic rock to schist,” she explains.

Although altitudes are lower in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA in western Santa Barbara County, the rare position of the mountain range there—west to east—allows “cool maritime influence to infiltrate the vineyard and create cool conditions ideal for growing high quality Chardonnay,” says Lorna Kreutz, director of winemaking at Foley Estate. Her Rancho Santa Rosa Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay is cultivated in a vineyard positioned between 534 and 977 feet. Even at these moderate altitudes, sunlight strength—which Kreutz refers to as photo intensity—is increased, which combined with restrained rather than fertile soils, culminates in fruit with “depth of character.”

“Mountain farming is not for the faint of heart,” says Vogt. “Mother nature can be unforgiving in challenging mountain growing conditions.” She points out that one of the biggest differences between grape-growing at altitude versus the valley floor is how irrigation is managed, mainly because fertile valley soils have greater water-holding capacity. Kreutz brings up the topic of canopy management, explaining that at lower altitudes it is safer to trim the vine canopy earlier in the season to allow more sunlight without fear of sunburn on the fruit, especially in fog-prone areas. The idea is to let the site-driven characteristics shine through, so, as Carpenter tells us, it is important to adjust picking time appropriately and to consider the use of oak and overall aging times. 

Though wine lovers note two distinct styles in the Old World versus New World debate, most high-altitude winemakers look to Burgundy as the inspiration for their Chardonnay profile. That said, Kreutz considers the Chardonnay grown in another cold region, Champagne, as a guide to the character she is seeking, because she believes that without Chardonnay, many Champagne cuvées would lack balance. “I love wines that are bold in acidity and food friendly. I find that Chardonnay is best with a ribbon of racy Champagne-inspired acidity,” she says. Vogt throws her weight behind the Chardonnays of Burgundy, which she believes have “shown the world that Chardonnay can be serious, ageable and compelling.” At Pahlmeyer, she embraces barrel fermentation and aging on the lees to add texture and richer mouthfeel, techniques also favored by the winemakers at Foley Estate, Stonestreet, and La Jota. Recent years have seen an about-face on the type of Chardonnay favored by consumers, and if you count yourself among this group of people who enjoy this leaner style of Chardonnay, the best thing you can do is head for the hills.