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Chardonnay 'Carneros District'

Chardonnay 'Carneros District' Wine Details
Price: $26.00 per bottle

Description: What a great year 2003 has turned out to be for California Chardonnay! While all of France was caught up in one of the warmest (and most uncomfortable) summers in history, most of the Napa and Sonoma Chardonnay vineyards enjoyed a mild growing season, with moderate daytime temperatures and plenty of cool summer nights. That sort of weather can produce wines of flavor, balance and structure -- exactly what we’ve seen over the course of our barrel tastings the past several months. This year’s Carneros District bottling includes fruit from the Sangiacomo Kiser Ranch, along with grapes from the lower elevation block of the El Novillero Ranch in the western foothills of the appellation. We’ve spiced things up a bit with the inclusion of grapes from the Yamakawa Vineyard, a breathtakingly beautiful parcel owned by a third generation grower family, just outside the town of Sonoma. Fondness for the great White Burgundy wines of France leads us to strive for a similar combination of fruit and minerality in our Chardonnay. We think we’ve succeeded here.

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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