*All wines are sold in the latest year's vintage
The Sonoma County Chardonnay is one of the most elegant and reserved Chardonnays have ever produced. It features citrus, green apple, vanilla and caramel in the nose with a dollop of roasty/toasty oak on the palate. It is an understated, balanced and refreshing wine that pairs beautifully with food.
Winery Notes:
A late budbreak in April and chilly wet weather into July set the table for a cool 2011 growing season. Temperatures remained mild through harvest resulting in lower brix than normal and a more restrained style of Chardonnay.
We hand-picked and whole-cluster pressed the grapes then racked roughly half of the juice into barrels for primary and malolactic fermentations. The remainder was tank fermented at cooler temperatures to preserve the bright fruit and ?rm structure. After fermentation, 77% of the wine was aged in new and used French, Hungarian and American oak barrels for seven months. The balance was kept in stainless steel tanks.
For more than four decades, Sonoma County has been one of the premier regions in California for Chardonnay. Our multiplicity of climates and soils provide a broad range of sites perfectly-suited for this noble grape. Taking full advantage of this diversity, our 2011 Sonoma County Chardonnay features fruit from Carneros, Sonoma Valley, Chalk Hill, Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley.
