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Wine Details
Price:
$26.00 per bottle
Description:
In building our new Chardonnay program, we discovered that our premier vineyards, Graves and McDuffie, each yield ripe Chardonnay grapes with distinct characteristics. At this discovery, we opted to keep the fermenting wine separate and age them side-by-side in neutral oak barrels. When blending the two wines, we found that each component had special attributes that could be further refined and aged for more complexity. As a result, we held back only one barrel of each wine and aged them for an additional 4 months – the richness and viscosity achieved surprised no one; we are pleased to release the individual vineyard designate wines having less than 20 cases of each available. The Graves big body and rich mouthfeel originates in the vineyard; it receives more heat through the summer adding butterscotch and caramel flavors to the wine. The McDuffie vineyards lay to south, and the grapes ripened with a complexity that opened with the additional barrel aging; it reveals true Chardonnay character, and now has a buttery soft mouthfeel as a finish. Both wines demonstrate the great potential of Chardonnay in our area.
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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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