Nose
The bouquet brings together peach, pear, grilled almonds and a hint of flint (minerality).
Palate
The palate is both creamy and firm. This is not your typical Napa Chardonnay. Instead it is an elegant, well proportioned wine that should age gracefully over the next few years.
Growing Conditions
While the 2013 vintage had 16% more rainfall than 2012, it would still be characterized as a dry year. The start to the season was temperate and fortunately there was no frost after bud break. Overall the summer was marked by cool mornings and warm afternoons. A heat spell during the second week of August accelerated the ripening process. We hand harvested on August 22th in the early morning hours under cool condition to preserve the freshness of the fruit.
Winemaking
Our 2013 Chardonnay came from a relatively cool site in the Oakville AVA of southern Napa. Most of the wine was fermented in French oak barrels (25% new) with the remainder in stainless steel barrels. To retain acidity we did not allow the wine to go through malolactic fermentation. Weekly batonnage for seven months added creaminess to the mid-palate. The wine was bottled in May 2014.
