Nose

Beautiful golden hue with bright tropical notes on the nose. This wine shows a harmonious balance of the warm climate melons and tropical flavors and the crisp acidity and lemon zest of cool climate.

Palate

The wine entry is clean and crisp, the mid palate weight showing layered tropical and honey dew flavors finishing again to clean and crisp and a desire for another sip.

Growing Conditions

We source our Paso Robles Chardonnay from three districts within the AVA: The San Juan Creek district with loamy soils and warm summer weather. The key here for quality Chardonnay is canopy management throughout the growing season. To avoid over exposure of fruit that can potential cause adverse phenolics, we ensure the clusters are shaded and allowed to fully ripen. The second district we source from is Creston. While warm during summer, this vineyard cools from early afternoon breezes, allowing the vines and clusters to mature slowly that helps with flavor and mouthfeel. The third district we source from is Pomar. Situated just east of the Templeton Gap, this vineyard gets plenty of cooling, maritime influence during the growing season. Soils here are well-integrated with calcareous matter, assisting in less water use and balanced vines. All vineyards we source are Certified Sustainable.

Harvest

The 2023 growing season was cooler and wetter than recent years. Near-record rainfall filled soil profiles while a cooler spring and summer facilitated good vine growth but slowed berry and cluster development. The result was a later harvest. Fortunately, the autumn weather was warm and consistent which helped to fully mature berries. The result was a balanced crop with ripe fruit, high tannins and anthocyanins, all indicators of high quality.

Bottling

September 2024

Winemaking

After harvesting, Chardonnay grapes were whole cluster pressed into stainless steel tanks for cold
settling at 30 degrees. The juice was then racked off the heavy lees into French oak barrels (26%) and stainless-steel tanks (74%) for fermentation. The barrel fermented portion saw eight months of sur lie aging and the barrels were stirred monthly during the first three months to enhance the creamy nature of the wine. The blend was assembled in June of 2024, then heat and cold stabilized in stainless steel tanks before bottling in September of 2024.