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Wine Details
Price:
$26.00 per bottle
Description:
This is our first Reserve Chardonnay since 1996. To even consider a wine for Reserve designation, it must be from a great vintage, have classic flavors and impeccable balance and take a big step up in quality above our "regular" blend. Lynda and I assembled this blend after many hours of tasting individual barrels and trial blends. Our goal was not to make the biggest, oakiest blockbuster Chardonnay, but rather the most flavorful, elegant and enjoyable wine. With barrel fermented wine each barrel is different, and this wine was literally blended barrel by barrel to obtain the optimal combination of oak, fruit, yeastiness, acidity, texture and finish. We find aromas of citrus, pineapple, pear and vanilla, with hints of honey, wool, butter, bacon, coconut and other tropical fruit. On the palate there is great concentration without heaviness, tons of fruit and a velvet texture. This is the best of our whites from an exceptional vintage. 265 cases produced.
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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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Optima:
Recent crossing of Riesling and Sylvaner grape with the Muller-Thurgau. Widely grown in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region of Germany and used for blending purposes in the white wines of the region.
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