Chardonnay
Scherrer Vineyard, 2010

$ 60.00

This is a rich and complex expression of Chardonnay from the Scherrer Vineyard. The grapes were whole-cluster pressed to French oak cooperage, where primary and malolactic fermentation occurred. All of these elements were allowed to integrate during its more than yearlong residence in wood. It was bottled without fining or filtration to respect both its delicacy and its more substantial qualities.

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Winemaker's Notes

Seeing the success with the un-inoculated 2009 Helfer Chardonnay fermentation which we started doing (or not doing, according to the point of view of the wine), I decided to apply what we learned to the Scherrer Vineyard bottling as well. I am so happy with this direction that I am kicking myself a little for not going this route earlier. The texture is beautiful and the integration of the small amount of new French Oak and yeast is happening waaaay sooner than it used to. There is a more bright expression to the apple/pear side of the fruit and there are more nuances that peel off of the wine core on the finish. Its youthful appeal causes me to open more bottles of this than I normally do at this stage, yet I do not believe we are sacrificing longer term development with this approach.