2017 Estate Selection
Chardonnay

$22

In the glass this wine has pale, platinum-straw color with a very slight tinge of green. 

It was 60% stainless-steel and 40% barrel fermented (that is to say, a little lower percentage barrel-fermented than prior vintages).  It was also fermented using a Montrachet strain of yeast that tends to stay at the bottom of the fermentation container, leading what we call a “less-oxidative, more-reductive character”.  What does that mean in English?  It means more complexity and more ageability, but less-immediate fruit character when first opened.

​

Accordingly, our tasters noted aromas that were “funky, reductive; wet stone; flint”.  In time the traditional pear-and-green-apple characters showed up.  On the palate, our original tasters noted the following: “Very rich; well-balanced; some citrus peel; green apples and pears”.

​

But when we re-tasted it in November 2022 it had blossomed and was very fruity. Individual tasters called out apple-pear, melon, tangy orange, even a trace of pineapple.  Rich (“Beurre blanc”) but well-integrated and not at all over-oaked.

​

Let us know what you think!