Nose
Fresh and highly aromatic with floral notes of citrus blossom
and jasmine complimented by fresh pears and a touch of anise
and struck match.
Palate
Medium to full bodied with pithy lemon
curd, crunchy pears and brioche. Intense grapefruit with a
creamy textural palate of great length and persistence balanced by
wonderfully fresh natural acidity.
Growing Conditions
Newton have been leasing and managing a vineyard just to the
northern border of Napa in Knights Valley (Part of Sonoma
County) for many years and occasionally bottling wines
individually to express the unique character and quality of this
site. Our Knights Valley vineyard was planted from 1983 to 100%
Chardonnay on steep cool North facing slopes that are situated
directly opposite from Mount St Helena whose ancient eruptions
creates the deep red volcanic soils which provide excellent
drainage. This is typically amongst the last Chardonnay we harvest
and is characterized by a distinct floral lift to the predominantly
citrus based fruit characters and fine vibrant natural acidity.
The drought that has impacted much of California from 2012
continued to keep rainfall levels below 50% of average and
maintained growing season heat summation above average for the
harvest. The warm and dry conditions promoted excellent quality
and when combined with above average yields the potential of the
2014 vintage is outstanding across all varieties. The 2014 Knights Valley Chardonnay will cellar beautifully for
10-15 years.
Harvest
September 6 - 8, 2014
Winemaking
The winemaking is classically simple and true to all our
Chardonnays. Hand harvested fruit at optimal maturity is whole
bunch pressed directly to oak for Natural fermentation of the
cloudy juice. The wine once finished fermentation is allowed
to complete its secondary Malolactic fermentation combined
with regular barrel stirring to maintain the freshness and build
aromatic and textural complexity.
