Philosophy:
JUSTIN’s 2014 Chardonnay is a perfect balance of styles. Crisp and refreshing on the palate with ripe lemon, peach and apple and just a touch of French oak spicy, elegant richness. It’s never heavy or buttery, so it is a suberbly versatile food pairing wine with various cheeses, seafood, or on its own.
Vintage Notes:
The 2014 vintage began with dry, mild winter with budbreak occuring in early to mid-March, a couple of weeks earlier than normal. The weather continued to be warm and dry, but winds during flowering caused uneven berry set, reducing our yields and opening the clusters a bit. Warm weather with slightly higher humidity continued through mid-July, including heat spikes of over 100° for brief periods in June and early July. Conditions in July and August could not have been better and while our first blocks of sauvignon blanc came in on August 13th, tying 2004 for our earliest harvest. Our chardonnay, which is a later ripening variety, came in a few weeks later with absolute perfect maturity and ripeness.
Tasting Notes:
Appearance:
Pale straw-lemon with moderate viscosity.
Aroma:
Medium plus body with ripe lemon, yellow apple and white peach fruit with a complex, spicy wood component of subtle vanilla with clove accents.
Palate:
Medium plus body with full ripe citrus, apple, peach and a little green melon on the entry with smoky spice and green apple notes appearing on the mid-palate. The finish is complex and clean with spice, lemon and melon fruit combining nicely with crisp structural elements. Made in a clean refreshing style, the 2014 JUSTIN Chardonnay is a perfect match for dishes like baked whitefish with a lemon or wine butter sauce with herbs like summer savory or oregano that a bigger, “buttery” chardonnay would definitely overpower. Also great before a meal on its own or with a wide variety cheeses and hors d’oeuvres.
Fermentation: Whole cluster pressed, barrel fermented with M2 yeast
Maturation: 7 months French oak (39% new)
pH: 3.34
Total Acidity: 0.71g/100mL
Alcohol: 14.5% by volume