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Wine Details
Price:
$20.00 per bottle
Description:
65% Bien Nacido Vineyard Chardonnay and 35% Rancho Vinedo Vineyard Chardonnay -- Fruit entirely from the heart of the Santa Maria Valley AVA in Coastal Santa Barbara County 8,000 cases produced, 13.5% alcohol, 3.38 pH., .67 T.A. -- The 2002 growing season was a warm one for the coast, with vineyard yields lower than normal for Chardonnay. We picked the vast majority of our Chardonnay between 23.1° brix and 23.8° brix for balance acidity, balanced alcohol and properly ripe fruit characters. The resulting wine, after fermentation in Francois Freres French oak barrels of which less than 20 % were new, was matured sur lie in the same barrels for 9-10 months. It was bottled without filtration. This natural, non-technological, stylish and traditional winemaking consistently produces elegant, textural, complex and food-enhancing Chardonnays. The 02 reminds me of the ’85,’89,’92 and ’99 wines. It has aromas of citrus, stone fruit, fennel and custard apple. The flavors are smooth and integrated, creamy and tense, with apricot, golden delicious apple and lemon verbena nuances. This ’02 wine is the 21st in a series of ABC Santa Barbara County Chardonnays and embodies the same regional style that we have refined over the years.
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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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