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Mother
nature was unusually cooperative this vintage and helped to
make this perhaps our
best Chardonnay to date. It was a late October harvest from
two Russian River locations: the majority from the Dutton
Ranch and the rest, a Meursault clone, from our
estate vineyard. After small-lot, whole cluster pressing,
90% of the lots were fermented with native yeasts for
increased complexity. 80% of the wine was barrel fermented
using only Allier and Trancais oak, and just 1/3 of the
barrels were new. The tight grain of
these cold climate forests gives subtle flavor
extraction and adds a toasty note without ever making the
wines taste “oaky”. We
did daily lees
stirring early in the fermentation for added texture, then
racked off the lees (using only gravity to preserve the
delicate aromas) once malolactic fermentation was finished.
The result? Exotic tropical aromas give way to the benchmark
citrus notes of this cool region, and in the mouth the
layers of flavor unfold in a yin/yang-like dichotomy of lush
fruit with crisp acidity wrapped
in vibrant and rounded textures. Dee-licious! Our
Chardonnay is consistently 90+ points each vintage and this
past year received "Top 100 Wines of the Year" acclaim and
Our founder and winemaker was singled out by Wine Enthusiast
Magazine as one of California's Most Dependable producers in
their feature "Chardonnay Greatness."
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AWARDS |
| 2007 |
| North of the Gate Wine
Competition - Silver |
| San Francisco Chronicle
Competition - Silver |
| Sonoma County Harvest Fair -
Silver |
| Chardonnay Shootout - 89pts. |
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