Nose
Teeming with compelling minerality, this site-driven Chardonnay is intoxicatingly aromatic; fresh lemon verbena, quince paste, grapefruit and orchard blossoms with lively acidity.
Palate
On the palate it is full and round, rich and soft (without being flabby). The DuPratt Chardonnay starts with high acidity up front that leads to a creamy finish; lemon, pear and vanilla flavor. Higher elevation and pronounced coastal influences have yielded this lean and vibrant Chardonnay a complex body and potential for long aging.
Growing Conditions
The small, five acre DuPratt vineyard sits on a ridge in Anderson Valley at an elevation of 1,550 feet, a few short miles from the charming seaside town of Elk. Planted in 1983 in upland timber sandstone soils, the fruit from this site distinctively reflects its mountainous locale, yielding wines with notable acidity and an appealing, rigid structure.
Harvest
Harvested September 9-11, 2015. The 2015 vintage will be remembered for high quality and lower yields. The growing season started out with unseasonably warm temperatures in late winter and early spring. Cooler temperatures in May caused some uneven fruit set that contributed to smaller yields at some of our sites. We had the earliest start to our harvest ever, and our earliest finish. The quality and purity of the fruit from this vintage produced wines with outstanding flavors and aromatics. We are excited to see our wines from this vintage develop
Winemaking
100% Malolactic Fermentation and Whole Cluster pressed, fermented in barrel with native, fermentations and no stirring of lees during aging
Aging
100% neutral French oak, 15 months in barrel
