Winemaker’s Notes:
Our 2012 Sonoma County Chardonnay is a rich gold color with beautiful aromas of lemon curd, modest yellow apple, and caramelized vanilla. It’s a medium bodied wine that rests nicely on the palate, exuding flavors of bright apple and butterscotch, and finishes with round notes of toasted oak from the barrel fermentation. This is a nice wine that is perfectly balanced between bright citrus fruits and oak flavors. - Mark R. Lyon, Winemaker
Vineyards:
For more than four decades, Sonoma County has been one of the premier regions in California for Chardonnay. Our multiplicity of climates and soils provide a broad range of sites perfectly suited for this noble grape. Taking full advantage of this diversity, our 2012 Sonoma County Chardonnay features fruit from the Russian River, Carneros, Sonoma Valley, Chalk Hill, and Alexander Valley.
Vintage:
From start to finish, 2012 was finally our most normal, seasonal vintage since 2007 in Sonoma County and a great year for Chardonnay! The first grapes were picked on September 26th, with harvest lasting all the way through October 22nd. The fruit from this vintage reached full maturity, developing into a medium, juicy berry size. We harvested all of the grapes under clear, night skies.
Winemaking:
We hand-picked and whole-cluster pressed the grapes, and then racked roughly half of the juice into barrels for primary and malolactic fermentations. The remainder of the fruit was tank fermented at cooler temperatures to preserve the bright fruit and firm structure. After fermentations, 66% of the wine was aged in new and used French, Hungarian, and American oak barrels for 10 months. The rest was kept in stainless steel tanks to help balance out the wine.
Composition:
98.8% Chardonnay
0.2% Rousanne
0.2% Viognier
0.8% Mixed Whites
Cooperage: Aged 10 months in new and used French, Hungarian, and American oak barrels
Alcohol: 13.9%
TA: 0.5 g/100ml
pH: 3.54