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Wine Details
Price:
$39.75 per bottle
Description:
The El Molino 2002 Rutherford Napa Valley Chardonnay is once again consistent with our house style showing rich bold tropical fruit flavors with a backbone high in malic acid. It is a voluptuous Rutherford Chardonnay with the balance it needs to stand next to the richest foods. As always we barrel fermented in French oak, leaving the wine on its original lees for eleven months and without malolactic fermentation. We think the wine exhibits floral and citrus notes that enhance the complexity of the tropical fruit. A bright entry leads to a viscous textured mid-palate that is given definition by the malic acid with the pear and brioche flavors mirroring the aromatics leading to a lingering crisp finish.
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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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