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Wine Details
Price:
$38.00 per bottle
Description:
2002 provided an ideal harvest for our Estate Grown Chardonnay. The mountain location of our vineyards and the cool breezes from the San Francisco Bay allowed these grapes a long "hang-time" and the opportunity to mature to perfection. This optimal ripening resulted in intense varietal fruit flavors. Barrel fermenting in new Burgundy French oak barrels added subtle nuances of toasty vanilla to this wine's delightful honeysuckle aroma. The sur-lie aging with weekly stirring added a creamy long finish. Our winemaker, Dimitri Tchelistcheff, suggests enjoying the 750ml full size bottles of this wine now through 2007.
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Varietal Definition
Chardonnay:
Chardonnay is by far the most widely planted grape crop in California and dominates California’s cooler, coastal, quality wine regions. The natural varietal ‘taste and smell’ of Chardonnay is surprisingly unfamiliar to many wine drinkers, as its true character is often guised with dominating winemaking signatures. Chardonnay’s rather subdued primary fruit characteristics lean toward the crisp fruitiness of apples, pears and lemon, but the variety’s full body is capable of supporting a host of complementary characteristics, such as oak, butter and vanilla. Regardless of what is the appropriate style for Chardonnay, the varietal continues to dominate vineyard plantings in every corner of the world. Close attention to clonal selection has made this broad geographic and climactic range of Chardonnay viable in thoughtful viticultural hands.
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Optima:
Recent crossing of Riesling and Sylvaner grape with the Muller-Thurgau. Widely grown in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region of Germany and used for blending purposes in the white wines of the region.
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