Fort Ross 2003 Chardonnay

Tasting Notes:
The aromatics reveal the signature minerality of the vineyard between layers of pear, honeydew melon and white peach notes. Framed by balanced acidity and lightly toasted oak, the palate is full, lush and leads to a long, elegant finish.

Vineyard Notes:
There are some areas of the vineyard where the soils were better suited to Chardonnay than Pinot Noir. We were lucky to be given two special field selections of Old Wente and Hyde chosen for their small berries and loose clusters. The first selection is graceful and fruity while the second is more structured and sleek. The overall crop in our Chardonnay blocks is small and the flavors intense.

Winemaking Notes:
Picked in the cool morning hours, the grapes are hand sorted and then whole cluster pressed. Pressing is carefully monitored to limit pressed juice to only the first and finest juice and to avoid at all costs any of the undesirable flavors that often accompany harder pressed wine. After pressing, the wine from each field selection is separately barreled in selected combinations of new and used 100% French oak barrels to undergo barrel fermentation, including malolactic fermentation.

Typically our Chardonnays are barreled for at least a year and often as long as sixteen months. Blending trials are done as the wines evolve. When the final blending relationships are decided, the wine is racked and bottled, without fining or filtration so that the wine maintains flavor and youthfulness over time.