Winemaker's Notes
Professionals who have tasted through the cellar consistently remark as to the finesse, integration, complexity and ‘minerality’ that this Alexander Valley benchland Chardonnay possesses. Pressing very lightly to only take the finest juice, barrel fermentation followed by aging on the lees until just before bottling make the most of this fine fruit. Bottling without filtration or fining really preserves ‘the good stuff’, the colloidal material that replenishes flavor and youthfulness, over the years. This is also allows the wine to walk that tightrope of delicacy vs. fullness. We plan to show the 2000 vintage (also still available) at the open house as well, to illustrate the virtues this style with a little bottle development. Someday, we should bring out a few bottles of the 1997, which is amazingly youthful and complex.
Judi Scherrer –
Wine Enthusiast – November 2005
This is an interesting, terroir-driven wine. It’s at that fascinating knife’s edge where it’s losing its peach and apple fruit and picking up a rich, honeyed minerality. Bone dry, it’s crisp in acids and complex, a “food wine” to use that overused term. 90 Points. Steve Heimhoff