Nickel & Nickel

In its ever ambitious and widening plan to make single vineyard wines, Nickel & Nickel – perhaps more than any other winery in California – strives to get at the nebulous concept of terroir. This Chardonnay is one of four in its current portfolio of 25 wines; and one of two from the Russian River Valley.

The Searby Vineyard was planted in 1972 on Goldridge sandy loam soils. The vineyard is situated on a west-facing, gently sloping hill that is dry-farmed and is very cool due to the marine influence. The clusters tend to have a combination of small and large berries, while the heirloom clonal selection produces Muscat-like flavors. N & N produces Chardonnay from just over nine acres of the vineyard.

The wine itself has stylish aromas with a hint of creaminess and melon. There’s lots of oak upfront but it quickly is integrated at mid-palate where it becomes well-balanced. The fruit is lovely, round and soft, backed by a good dose of acidity. This wine is age worthy, perhaps up to eight years. Thankfully, there was no ML (malolactic fermentation) introduced, which would have rendered the wine too sweet and even flat. The juice was aged for nine months in French barrels, 52 percent of which were new. The listed alcohol is 14.3 percent and there were just over 3,600 cases produced.

Reviewed September 12, 2007 by Alan Goldfarb.