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| Charles Heintz |
Sonoma Coast |
Sonoma |
jasmine, mandarin peel, apple skin, cinnamon stick.
lemon honey, baked spiced apple, toasted nuts.
tart tatin, vanilla ice cream, blue cheese.
VINIFICATION
this wine was hand picked on oct. 27th. our hopes for making a dry
wine were abandoned due to the extraordinarily high brix. the fruit was
sorted on the vine, so that only those clusters affected with botrytis
were taken. it was whole cluster pressed and then barreled down
immediately into 50% new and 50% neutral french oak barrels for
17-months. the wine was bottled without fining or filtration. 80 cases
were produced.
SITE
the charles heintz vineyard is situated within three prestigious wine
appellations (green valley, russian river valley, and sonoma coast). its
location, a mere 4-miles from the pacific ocean, personifies what is
known locally as the extreme sonoma coast. it sits at an elevation of
1,000 feet in soft, sandy loam soil known locally as “goldridge.”
proximity to sea and its constant fog means it is often the last
chardonnay vineyard in all of sonoma county to be harvested.
a late-september rain squall set off a fire-storm of botrytis in this
region, the likes of which is seen only once every 25-years. growers
unprepared to meet these obstacles with vigorous work and a
willingness to sacrifice produced marginalized wines. charley’s
meticulous approach throughout the year prepared the vineyard for a
fight. he saw opportunities where others saw challenges, and opted to
let a few rows of vines ripen until late october. at this late stage, nearly
every cluster had contracted botrytis. perfect! we would make a fully
botrytised chardonnay from the sonoma coast. this is a wine for
extreme hedonists. it boasts exotica usually reserved for forbidden
asian kingdoms—jasmine flowers, candied ginger, and mandarin peel.
one swirl of the glass reveals other layers too---apple skin and freshly
crushed cinnamon sticks. the wine’s flavors are delivered with a
surprising amount restraint. the warm lemon honey, baked apples,
and toasted nuts coat the palate with a deftness more akin to old
world sweet wine. you can actually sit down and drink a glass of this
stuff. what makes it work—and what makes all sweet wines work—is
the precise balance of sugar and acid. this wine has it. and further, it
has a beguiling mineral character working in concert with all those
pâtisserie elements.
| kevin kelley |
80 (12/.375 ml) |
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| now through 2020+ |
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