Download Wine Notes:
2009 Chardonnay
Chardonnay
2009 Chardonnay
Estate Grown and Bottled
We hand craft our wines with character and integrity from grapes sustainably grown in our Santa Barbara County vineyard. We grow all our own grapes and have the benefit of farming this vineyard since 1973.
Growing Season and Harvest
It was another cold and dry winter in the Santa Ynez Valley. Spring was mild and long with plenty of cool sunshine to awake the vines. Summer was surprising cool as well, but we welcomed the usually heat spite around early September. September just about finished before we started picking the whites, several weeks later than usual. A threatening storm quickened our pace in mid-October, as we raced Mother Nature. The mild year provided great flavor development without excess sugar for wine of great quality and balance.
Winemaking
After hand harvesting, this Chardonnay was gently whole cluster pressed and stainless steel tank fermented. Then 40% of the juice was barrel aged for 10 months in French oak barrels, which 15% were new, for complexity and richness. The remaining 60% percent remained in stainless steel tanks to retain its fresh fruit characters. Both portions were not allowed to go through malolactic fermentation to preserve their lively flavors. Grenache Blanc was added just before bottling to give this Chardonnay an interesting Rhône twist.
The Wine
The resulting wine has bright mango, papaya, tangerine, pear and stone fruit (from the Grenache Blanc) aromas and flavors that marry with toasty oak from ten months of barrel aging. This wine will pair well with shellfish or light pasta over the next several years.
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