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CASE PRICE = $18.99 per bottle (add 12+ quantity to your basket)

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The 2007 was Rank #29 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2009!

About This Wine:

Wine

Capturing the distinctive characteristics of our unique terroir, our 2008 Estate Chardonnay holds fragrant aromas of ripe pear, green apple, hazelnut, vanilla and baking spice. Bright fruit flavors glide across a lithe and supple midpalate, balanced by toasty oak and a creamy texture. The vineyard’s limestone soils leave a distinct footprint with a crunchy rock minerality that persists through the middle and holds the finish. The fine balance of vibrant acids with weightier oak influences makes an excellent match to rich, creamy foods such as soft cheeses and chicken dishes with heavier sauces.

Vineyard

Located among the ragged outcroppings of the Gavilan Mountains, perched approximately 1,700 feet above the Salinas Valley, our estate vineyard is extreme wine country. At this elevation, the grapes experience wide diurnal temperature swings, which can vary by as much as 45 degrees in one day. Limited rainfall and the shallow limestone soils give little assistance to the vines, resulting in beneficial stress that produces low yields of intense, flavorful grapes. This unique terroir and microclimate impart a distinctive mineral character and compelling richness to our Estate Chardonnay.

Winemaking

Our Estate Chardonnay is crafted to express its unique origin. “The vineyard,” Winemaker Robert Cook explains, “is the beauty in the bottle.” To preserve the essence of the vineyard, we began by hand picking the grapes at night. At the winery, the whole clusters were lightly pressed to retain the delicate nuances and distinct character. To complement the fresh acidity and racy minerality, we barrel fermented and aged the wine in 100-percent French oak barrels, with approximately half the wine undergoing malolactic fermentation in the spring. Gentle stirring of the lees (bâtonnage) during 10 months’ aging further enhanced the mouthfeel and texture for a well-balanced wine that is simply scintillating.

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