Some wines live in a winemaker’s head for years or decades before they are born. This is one of those wines. I fell in love with Chardonnay in California first, then in France and then again - while making still and sparkling wines in the Russian River Valley. I always thought that if one could combine some of the racy acidity and minerality found in wines from Mersault with some of the lushness of a balanced vintage from California, one could produce a wine that is both pleasing at release but more so, would have the potential to age gracefully; that is the wine I set out to craft. Lucky for me, the legendary Rochioli family are my neighbors on Westside Road and they honor me by selling me some pristine grapes.
Grapes were hand-picked at night and whole-cluster pressed while cold.
The juice was drawn into French-oak barrels (30% new) for an uninoculated fermentation by our "resident" yeast and natural-occuring bacteria. We stirred the lees every month through winter and early spring (a practice called “Batonage”) and let the wine "rest" until early summer. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered just before the next harvest began. The 2022 Vintage was marked by early heat waves and an even period of ripening in the fall which allowed us to pick the grapes at optimal balance.
When young, this wine is full of floral and fruit aromas and flavors with a delicate oaky nuance arising from contact with 30% new French Oak barrels. As the wine ages it develops a fresh sun-drenched hay character and it takes on some honey and nutty notes.
Alcohol: 13.5%
TA: 6.9 g/L
pH: 3.51