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| Durell |
Sonoma Valley |
Sonoma |
peach pit, key lime, talc.
stone fruit, citrus blossom, wild herbs.
sautéed scallops, sea bass, washed rind cheeses.
VINIFICATION
hand picked on sep 26th. intensive hand-sorting performed. whole cluster pressed. cold fermented in stainless steel tanks (NO OAK) using a wild yeast. naturally occurring malolactic fermentation. 6-month fine lees contact. bottled without fining or filtration. 195 cases produced.
SITE
dried-up river bed, at southwest corner of sonoma valley appellation, bordering carneros and san pablo bay. soil is strewn with round river stones and "los robles" gravelly clay-loam. morning fog retreats during warm midday hours. intense afternoon ocean winds provide excellent ventilation and evening cooling. self-restricting climate results in naturally low-yielding vines. sustainable farming practices and impeccable vineyard management ensures consistent quality.
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| 3.55 |
7.6 g/l |
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| 0.03 g/l |
23.3 |
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to make a wine of this pedigree in carneros/sonoma valley in 2006 required a herculean effort in the vineyard. flatly stated, 2006 was a challenging vintage for chardonnay growers. rot was so prevalent that many growers (in particular the quality conscious ones) left much of their crop on the ground for the birds and squirrels to plunder.
steve and ned hill, the father/son team behind durell, handled the vintage with the sort of cool temperament brought only by decades of experience. the balance maintained in the vineyard throughout the year gave them healthy, happy vines heading into harvest and put them in the position to respond to the rain in september. they knew it was coming and that rot would follow. their solution was a laborious technique called "leaf pulling." with a crew of trained vineyard workers, the hills relieved the vines of all of their foliage. a naked vine has a much better chance of fending off rot because of the reduced organic matter surrounding the grapes. it paid off. while many of their less fastidious neighbors (read: the ones who did not leaf pull) had to harvest five days after the rain in advance of the impending rot, the hills enjoyed a full 12 extra days of ripening. this is an eternity in the life of september grape vine, where sugars levels fluctuate by the hour. our winemaker was awestruck by the consistency of the durell fruit which required almost zero sorting. every bunch that came in was clean!
so what does all of this mean? it means the elusive 'savor of site' comes through in the wine. that sense of place unique only to the durell vineyard. while much of carneros is resigned to a rather pedestrian clay-based soil, durell is situated in a dried up river bed in soil strewn with cobble stones. there are roughly 300 acres of this wholly unique soil in all of sonoma valley. the iconic chardonnay vineyard "les pierres" is also here. this high rock content infuses the wine with a varied mineral essence.
this wine smells like the pits of white peaches, fresh key lime, and crushed chalk. the flavors mirror the aroma somewhat-more stone fruits, citrus peel, and something reminiscent of sun-baked, wild herbs. what we like about it is the balance and the purity. is makes us think of summer, eating outdoors, and the bounty of the sea.
| kevin kelley |
195 |
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| now through 2010+ |
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