AROMA: lemon blossom, orchard fruits, crushed stone
FLAVOR: mineral, pomelo, white tea
FOOD PAIRINGS: fish & chips, fresh oysters, shrimp Scampi
VINIFICATION: The fruit was hand-harvested in early October, destemmed, and foot tread before being pressed. The majority of the juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks, the balance in neutral oak puncheons where they remained (no battonage) for 6 mos before racking. A gentle cross-flow filtration was performed prior to bottling.
SITE: This wine is composed of several vineyards, all in the cooler, western regions of Sonoma County. While each site is distinct, they share a common commitment to sustainable horticulture and strident farming. Our intention for this wine is to express the unique character of this region. Warm days and cool nights, tempered by consistent oceanic fog, yield nuanced Chardonnays balanced by brisk acidity.
NOTES: You've heard about 2023, right? The return to a classic California vintage. Wet spring. Good size crop. October harvest dates. Low blood pressure. ;) The 2023 wines are super fresh, fruit dense, and because of the extended hang times—very aromatic. For this year's installment, we went back to the original SoCo "recipe." All the fruit came from ranches in the Russian River Valley / Sonoma Coast corridor. All of it was hand picked in early to mid-October (in itself, a news story). The fruit was crushed—in this case, foot tread, back at the winery, and pressed out into stainless steel tanks. For the first time in many years, we elected not to blend down any barrel-fermented lots into SoCo—it's 100% tank fermented and aged, and it shows the Chablis-like tension and minerality we find only in the coldest growing years. This wine is mouthwatering and buttressed with a low 3.4 pH. Opened bottles should hold up for several days in the bar fridge…if they last that long.
