2010 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

2010 Vintage Notes

One of the coolest seasons in the last 30 years, the 2010 season produced wines of supple elegance and complexity. The year opened with a cool wet Spring after a series of drought years, which gave much needed relief and full canopies as the weather warmed in late March and April. Cool weather disturbed set (the conversion of flowers to grapes) at this west Sonoma county location which produced a light crop. Overall, the growing season was mild with swings to both warm and cool from July through September. October brought several light early rains, but the weather turned warm and sunny later in the month, which brought the development and ripeness we were looking for. We picked our  old vine Sonoma Coast Chardonnay in late October fully ripe, with great concentration but with distinct minerality and elegant structure.

2010 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay Tasting Notes

The wine opens with a bouquet of fresh brioche, roasted brazil nut, and lemon zest, revealing wet stones, sweet smoke and d'anjou pear as it unfolds over time. On the palate the wine is silky, soft, and rich but not heavy, flavors are nuanced and precise, showing notes of glorious pear, asian apple, minerals and smoke. It ends with a long, persistent finish, with layers of creme brulee, meyer lemon, clean bright acidity and wet stones. It is extremely well balanced, lively and fresh in flavor and acidity, with great focus and invites returning to the glass again and again.

• Harvest Date: October 24th, 2010
• Brix 24.7
• pH 3.45
• Hand harvested and whole cluster pressed
• Rack to barrel and fermented cold on gross lees
• Native fermentation, followed by a complete malolactic fermentation
• Aged sur lie with weekly battonage
• Aged for 16 months in 100% French Oak, 50% new
• Bottled unfined January 17, 2012