2007 CHARDONNAY - RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY / RUSSIAN RIVER SELECTION

The creation of “cuvees” is clearly among our most important and exciting tasks, resulting in the finest possible blends, while utilizing all our of best vineyard sources. This wine is an example of how individual vineyard nuances express themselves with one another, creating a more complex and intriguing wine. The wine was barrel fermented in 100% French oak barrels for seven months, one third new, one third one year old, and one third two years old. The result is a very crisp, fruit-focused offering with generous natural acidity, a hallmark of the Russian River Valley.

This 2007 Russian River Chardonnay has bright aromas of lemon custard, butterscotch and hints of nutmeg, followed by additional notes of baked apple, hazelnut, vanilla cream and tropical fruits. Although youthful and enticing, this wine will benefit from some additional time in the bottle. The wine’s medium plus body and acidity will lend itself to many seafood dishes as well as aged Gouda cheeses.

2007 was another example of our region’s consistency. The short rainy season with less then usual amounts of rain, coupled with the warm spring temperatures lead to an early bud break. Subtle spring heat spikes and wind conditions contributed to varying degrees of “shatter” in the vineyard. This shatter, together with the previous year’s large yields, led to a relatively light crop which in turn resulted in smaller berries showing very intense flavor and great color.