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Wine Details
Price:
$59.00 per bottle
Description:
The 2001 Reserve Chardonnay is made of grapes from "Finch Hollow," a small plot in our Chardonnay vineyard that in previous years was harvested by flocks of Finches and Blackbirds. This plot is characterized by particularly shallow soil with exceptional drainage. In 1996 we began bird netting all our vineyards and had our first harvest from Finch Hollow. Dimitri Tchelistcheff, our winemaker, noted that the distinct terroir of this specific plot led to intense tropical fruit character in the grapes and chose to bottle this section of the vineyard seperately under a "Reserve" designation. In 1998 it was decided to try bottling the Reserve Chardonnay without fining or filtration in order to retain all of its distinctive richness and character. The 2001 Reserve Chardonnay is offered in two styles the unfined and unfiltered bottling and this the lightly fined and filtered bottling. Due to the cool growing season in 2001 these grapes enjoyed an extra amount of hang-time on the vines allowing them to ripen to perfection. This 2001 Reserve Chardonnay shows rich fruit and exceptional balance and elegance.
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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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