Sonoma
lemon curd, pear skin, wet stone.
verbena, green pear, talc.
fig pizza, green papaya salad, crabcakes.
the fruit was hand harvested and sorted, then fermented in stainless steel tanks (no oak) using wild yeasts. malolactic
fermentation occurred naturally and finished completely. the
wine remained in tank on the fine lees for 6-months.
a selection of complementary sonoma county vineyards
compose this wine. while each site is distinct, they share a
common commitment to sustainable horticulture and strident
farming. our intention for this wine is to express, as
transparently as possible, the unique character of this region.
warm days and cool nights, tempered by consistent oceanic fog,
yield full and rich chardonnays balanced by brisk acidity.
by early september there was anxious chatter about a good size chardonnay crop of superlative quality. unfortunately for growers, the economy was in the tank. this perfect storm of increased quantities and decreased demand created a grape buying climate we hadn’t seen in years. we did what we could
to help out our growers—buying more fruit than we had under
contract (but at appreciable discounts). the 09 “soco” benefits
from the trial and error of four vintages. we’ve identified and
refined favored vineyard sites and omitted others. what
remains is a good sized component of stuhlmuller vineyard chardonnay—our alexander valley stalwart planted with old
wente clone along the russian river on cobbley, creek-bed soils;
a recurring component from the ricci vineyard in carneros—dijon
clones on clay soils in a true marine climate; a recurring
component from mazzera vineyard in dry creek—the southern
tip (and coolest party) of the ava with stony soil and reliably low
yields; and a new component from the valentine vineyard which
sits right on the sonoma/mendocino county line (and was the
surprise favorite of the cellar). blending up a big tank of
“grown” chardonnay, that is to say no bulk juice, is not unlike
making a stew. you want to build in layers of nuance. so we get
mineral from stuhlmuller & acidity from ricci, orchard fruit from
mazzera & citrus from valentine. and we end up with a
surprisingly complex un-oaked chardonnay that hits all the right
notes.
| kevin kelley |
8536 |
 |
| now through 2012+ |
view |
