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Wine Details
Price:
$25.00 per bottle
Description:
Things got off to a fast start in 2004 with early budbreak, a very warm spring, and a very warm start to summer. We were running twenty to thirty days ahead of average vine development schedule in early July; this, compounded with fewer and smaller Chardonnay clusters, created anticipation for the earliest vintage on record. The weather continued to be warm, resulting in an expected early vintage. We began picking the French clones of Chardonnay the last week in August – unprecedented in my twenty two years at J. Lohr – and began harvest of “Clone 5” Chardonnay from the Arroyo Vista Vineyard on September 6th. Despite this record early vintage, the Chardonnay fruit tasted outstanding with 25.9° Brix, a very low pH of 3.3 and a very bracing acidity of 9.4 grams per liter.
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Varietal Definition
Chardonnay:
Chardonnay is by far the most widely planted grape crop in California and dominates California’s cooler, coastal, quality wine regions. The natural varietal ‘taste and smell’ of Chardonnay is surprisingly unfamiliar to many wine drinkers, as its true character is often guised with dominating winemaking signatures. Chardonnay’s rather subdued primary fruit characteristics lean toward the crisp fruitiness of apples, pears and lemon, but the variety’s full body is capable of supporting a host of complementary characteristics, such as oak, butter and vanilla. Regardless of what is the appropriate style for Chardonnay, the varietal continues to dominate vineyard plantings in every corner of the world. Close attention to clonal selection has made this broad geographic and climactic range of Chardonnay viable in thoughtful viticultural hands.
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