2021 Chardonnay
50% Muir-Hanna Vineyard, Oak Knoll, Napa Valley
17% Rancho Vinedo, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara
33% Bald Mountain Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nectar Dance
This Chardonnay is a blend of our favorite vineyards along the coast of California. Mixed among forests, the grasses sway in the afternoon breeze, deer meander through the vines, and bees dance across the blossoms - all in a wondrous waltz of the wild.
$65
Winemaker’s Tasting Notes
It's a warm spring day strolling through a neglected orchard; the sage and wildflower fill the grounds and the lemon blossoms are bursting from their buds above. This wine brings you in, then, makes you chase. Kaffir lime leaf with high pitched coriander bring a primary aroma that you think is going to carry the wine, but then you realize it's that first warm embrace before you enter the door. The aromas of citrus and bright herb lull you into a wafting hint of clean hay and slightly extracted almond. Moving into the palate reminds me of cracking into a vanilla macaroon - full of flavor yet so effortlessly light. The flavors meld and mingle, lending toward lavender infused beeswax melting slowly on a warm spring day with a whiff of fresh bread baking up wind. This wine has no "edge;" it just flows.
What is most pleasing is the wine has a disarming quality that belies its complexity. It has no motive or ego, it simply gives.
Drink Now-2030
Winegrowing Approach
The common narrative of the three vineyards that comprise this wine is Old Wente clone and mature vines.
Rancho Vinedo: Shot Clone Wente, Planted in 1973, Cool Climate
Bald Mountain: Clone #4 (Wente), Platned in 1991, Cool Climate
Muir-Hanna: Shot Clone Wente, Planted in 1982, Warm Climate
The maturity of these vineyards lends to naturally smaller yield and, thus, concentraion. Wente clone is known for having small and large berries all on the same cluster. That means you have very ripe and rich flavors from the small berries and less ripe and more acidity for the larger berries. This creates a great balance to the wine and arguably a more complete and complex flavor profile. The wines that emerge from these vineyards can cover the full spectrum - from restrained to opulent due to the differing climates. However, we aim for a more acid driven, focused, burgundian style of Chardonnay. We generally harvest around 21.5-22.5 brix and direct press the grapes. We then settle the lees overnight before barreling down. We then barrel ferment the juice in 30% new French oak allowing the natural fermentation to take its course. Once fermentation is complete, we topped off the barrels and left them to age with their lees for 15 months before bottling.
Technical Information
Fermentation: Full Native for Alcoholic and Malolactic, lasting 5 months
Aging: 100% French Oak, 30% new for 15 months, finished in stainless steel tank for another 4 months
Production: 135 cases bottled
Alcohol: 12.8%