Nose
Aromas of tropical and stone fruits with a touch of perfumed white flower character.
Palate
The mouth expands upon the fruit with generous peach, pineapple and green apple supported in the background by the light toastiness of sweet French oak. The mouthfeel is full without being heavy and serves to balance the abundant fruit. Bright acidity pulls this all together and makes for a crisp finish.
Growing Conditions
The growing season of 2016 got off to another early start. Mild weather through the summer allowed the grapes to ripen at a moderate rate developing deep and intense character. As a result of the early spring, harvest came a full 2 1⁄2 weeks earlier than average. Mild weather through the harvest brought the fruit in at
a slow pace allowing us to pick each block at its optimal ripeness and get the fruit into the winery early in the day and cold. The yields were average and the fruit quality was excellent. Finishing up harvest two weeks early gave us more time to enjoy the rest of the autumn.
Winemaking
The Chardonnay grapes are gently whole cluster pressed to minimize extraction of bitter compounds. The juice is then barreled fermented and aged in French oak barrels with 28% new oak for 9 months. About 31% of the wine was allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation to soften the bright acidity of out José S. Ferrer Chardonnay/ Every four weeks for six months the barrel was stirred (battonage) to mix in the lees to build the supple mouthfeel of the wine.
Food Pairing
This wine is a perfect match for grilled shrimp tacos with pineapple habañero salsa. With the addition of sweet oak on the palate try smoked duck breast salad with fresh mango, jicama and avocado. Pair aged Manchego or St. Jorge with dried apricots and peach chutney for the cheese course.
