2006 Christie Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Vineyards
The grapes for this wine were grown on a hillside of Pleasant Valley located at the southern-tip of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Trained to a modified-Geneva-double- curtain trellising system, the vines of the this southern sloping vineyard and their clusters of fruit receive hours of mountain sunshine each day through the carefully leaf-pruned, hedged shoots. The soil composition of this mountain valley is a well-drained, powdery loam which has resulted from the gradual decompositon of granite of nearby Mt. Madonna. Given the hand-farmed nature of this “culturally-advantaged” vineyard combined with its marine-influenced meso-climate, the resulting grapes exhibit intense varietal character with enough backbone to allow the wine to age gracefully for several years.
In the Winery
The grapes were handpicked during mid to late October of 2006. Yields were below average, 2.0-3.5 tons per acre. Arriving at the winery, we whole-cluster pressed the grapes using a gentle bladder press, chilled the juice for several days to clarify and then racked to 60 gallon French oak barrels (65% new) and inoculated with various yeast strains. At the end of the alcoholic fermentation, the barrels were topped and one hundred percent of the barrels were sent through a malo-lactic fermentation. Aging continued sur lie (on the yeast) for eleven months with minimal stirring and the barrels destined for single vineyard designation were selected and blended. The wine was bottled in late August of 2007.
COLOR: Medium straw-colored
NOSE: Aromas of ripe apple and bosc pear combine with light toasty notes of French oak and vanilla to rise out of the glass and captivate.
MOUTH: Mountain pear, ripe gala apple, a touch of pinepple with notes of French oak to accent,all complemented by a creamy mouthfeel (owing to sur lie aging) balanced by a firm structure which will allow this wine to age for several years.