Nose
The nose is attractive and ripe, echoed by clean flavors of stone fruits and vibrant citrus
notes.
Palate
The silky texture and the long, crisp, fruit-filled finish complete our wine, unobscured by oak.
Growing Conditions
Bud break was in early April in 2005, flowering in early June, verasion in mid-August and
harvest the week of September 25th. We cane prune these vines annually. We shoot
thin in mid-spring, cluster thin at verasion, and do not leafstrip. These steps promote
excellent canopy and develop concentrated fruit early in the season. The spring and
summer is in fact when we develop fruit expression and minimize herbaceous flavors.
The fall weather ensures its ripeness and fulfills the fruit concentration efforts of the
summer.
Harvest
Our chardonnay was harvested by hand the week of September 25th, physiologically
mature at 23.5°brix hydrometer, 8.6g/L acid, and 3.25 pH. This developed an alcohol of
14.0%. We grew eight pounds of fruit per plant.
Winemaking
Whole cluster pressed, the raw juice
fermented entirely in one, two, three, and four year mature Burgundy barrels. We chose
to use only one new barrel out of 21 total. This wine’s balance is naturally developed in
the vineyard. We do not add acids or water to our juices. Instead, we grow our fruit to
balance the natural juice acids so that our wine needs no additions. After malolactic
fermentation starts, we taste for the vintage’s balance and preserve the original malic
acid in the wine with partial fermentation for st ylistic crispness. This wine was milk-fined
to improve its long finish. The chardonnay was lees stirred until bottling.
Aging
Bottled on August 12th.
