Winemaker's Notes
I have always wanted to make a Chardonnay in this style, but never seized the opportunity before. During its first year in barrel, I was impressed with the harmony between a combination of two different new barrels of the 2001 Fort Ross Chardonnay. When the time came to rack the vineyard designate to tank, I decided to satisfy a longtime curiosity by blending wine from these two new barrels into an older barrel for further surlie aging where yeast autolysis and further harmonization could occur. This wine is incredibly thick and unctuous, and nearly a meal in itself. Not nearly a food wine, this wine is nearly a food.
