2007 Chardonnay, Estate Bottled Santa
Ynez Valley
With our thirty-five years experience growing Chardonnay on our estate; the coolest sections of our vineyard have reliably produced our distinctive style. These sections are planted with two complimentary clones of Chardonnay: Wente adds subtle nutmeg and clove notes and Mt. Eden brings tropical fruit flavors.
Growing
Season and Harvest
After a dry, cold winter, the vines were a little slow waking up in the spring, about 4 weeks later than usual. Spring was very mild, but sunny. It finally started to warm up around the 4th of July and stayed nice through the end of September with the usual heat wave around Labor Day. Harvest came about 4 weeks late as well. Yields were little due to the cold start but the quality was exceptional.
Winemaking
After hand harvesting, this Chardonnay was gently whole cluster pressed. Sixty percent of the juice was barrel fermented and sur lie aged or on the lees (yeast and solids) for 10 months in French oak barrels for complexity and richness. The remaining forty percent was then fermented in stainless steel tanks to retain its fresh fruit characters. Both portions were not allowed to go through malolactic fermentation to retain their lively flavors.
The Wine
The resulting wine has bright mango, papaya, tangerine and pear 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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