Growing Conditions
The 2019 vintage was in many ways reminiscent of 2018 in that it started late and stayed on track for a late harvest. The extremely wet winter of 2019 helped the health of the canopies in the vineyard while filling our reservoirs with water for the season before, we enjoyed a remarkably long summer all during harvest. Identical in degree growing days, a measure of how warm the season has been, we enjoyed a very pleasant harvest with gorgeous, dark fruit for the reds and forward, pleasing whites.
We’re quite taken with the wines from this vintage. Pinot Noir yields were short and concentrated from our vineyard, while the Chardonnay bounty was more typical in yields. They shall be a bit more generous and earlier drinking than the previous, cooler vintage.
Winemaking
The debut of our Béton Chardonnay is a result of experimentation and curiosity. Named after the method of fermentation in concrete eggs, this wine is a blend of Old Wente, Dijon 95 and Dijon 548 clones to create a floral bouquet popping with bright fruit, depth, and structure. Our 2019 Chardonnay, Méthode Béton is beautifully perfumed, brimming with white floral notes, white peach, tangerine, and juicy stone fruit flavors, while the lees contact brings a slight nutty character, like litchi nut and shaved almond with a clean long finish.
