2021 Chardonnay, Sonoma Valley 1.5L

The Chardonnay clone used for this wine is 100% Wente clone, a long sought-after clone for Chardonnay. After handpicking, the fruit wash and sorted and whole cluster pressed in a gentle Champagne press cycle. The juice was then cold settled and racked to barrels dirty on its heavy lees solids. The Chardonnay then underwent a native yeast barrel fermentation in 100% French oak barrels (35% new and 65% neutral). This wine went through 50% malolactic fermentation to enhance body and mouthfeel. Lees stirring was performed every 3 weeks during its life to also build upon body, texture, and structure. Overall, the wine was aged on the lees for 14 months before filtration and bottling.

The season started off with bud break in early March, leading to a Spring that allowed for a perfect flowering and set for the grape clusters. Summer was also quite warm and long, leading into an early Autumn harvest season. The drought conditions led to lower yields in the vineyard, which gave a perfect concentration for juice versus skin ratio. The consistent summer weather encouraged our Chardonnay grapes to ripen in mid-September. The fruit was handpicked on September7th, 2021 at optimal flavors and ripeness.