Tasting Notes

Release Date: Fall 2006

This is our twentieth vintage from these old vines which continue to produce the most definitive single vineyard Chardonnay in the whole of Edna Valley.

Bountiful aromas of citrus fruits and spices confront the nose. Rich and oily textured the flavors of lemon, almond and brown spices are broad and deep. The 2004 vintage was small, yielding two tons per acre and a warm one to boot. The heat pushed the harvest forward yet the wine still captures its signature cool climate zest. An extra dimension of richness and complexity is an added bonus of this vintage that is quite enjoyable.

Barrel fermented in our mountain cave, this wine was aged on the yeast sur-lie for ten months. Drink over the next two years.

Production

6,741

Tech Notes

Yield: 2.3 tons per acre (100 tons total purchase)

Harvest: September 14th-22th

Numbers @ Harvest: 24.3° Brix, 3.5 pH, 7.0 grams acidity

Barrel Regimen: 50-50 French and American 2-5 years old; 100% barrel fermented with full malolactic; aged sur lie 9 months

Bottling: June & July 2005

Reviews

92 points Wine Spectator - April 2007

#29 Top 100 Wines of 2007-December 2007

Ripe and intense, with rich, perfumed apple, pear and spice flavors that pick up a note of butterscotch form oak.  Turns elegant and stylish on the finish, showing a hint of lemon and citrus.  A great value.  Drink now through 2010.—J.L.

89 points Robert Parker Jr's The Wine Advocate - August 2006

Issue #166

…reveals copious quantities of tropical fruits and honeysuckle in a full-bodied, fruit driven, satisfying, rich, well-made style. Drink over the next several years.

88 points Wine Enthusiast - April 2007

This deeply-flavored chard comes from one of the coolest growing areas in California, and in this warm vintage, the grapes are perfectly ripe.  They brim with white peach, pineapple, vanilla custard, tangerine and kiwi flavors, heightened and brightened with crisp acidity.—S.H.