Nose
Aromas of nectarine and apricots.
Palate
The palate is ripe and more fruit driven due to the warmer vintage and filled with fresh nectarine and stone fruit flavors. It finishes with softer acidity and has all of the flavors of Chardonnay fruit without any oak!
Growing Conditions
This is the third vintage of Steel Chardonnay coming from our Ramal Vineyard in Carneros to which the Chardonnay Clone #4 is planted. The cooler, windy climate and dense soils of Carneros are excellent conditions for Chardonnay. We selected only the best lots in creating this wine for higher quality and better control. Our main focus for the 2014 Carneros Steel Chardonnay was to emphasize the higher acidity and crisp style for which the Clone #4 Chardonnay is known when picked at optimal ripeness.
Harvest
2014 started several days sooner due to warmer spring weather. Summer was normal and veraison started by mid-July. August was dry, making smaller clusters and in general lower yields. Even ripening was observed and all grapes were hand harvested nearly a month earlier than the previous year.
Bottling
Bottling Date February 2015.
Winemaking
The grapes were hand harvested and whole-cluster pressed in small lots. We utilized two different yeast strains to accentuate the intrinsic characteristics of each Chardonnay clone. The lots were fermented in stainless steel tanks at cold temperatures for 15 to 20 days to capture more aromatics and esters. We prevented the wine from going through malolactic fermentation to retain the natural zingy acidity. The light lees were stirred once a month to gain additional texture and yeast autolysis flavors.
Aging
Stainless steel.
Food Pairing
This wine is perfect by itself on a warm summer day or paired with a nice piece of grilled fish topped with a squeeze of lemon and seasonal vegetables.
