Nose
Voluptuous, concentrated and complex, this alluring wine offers aromas of guava, orange peel, nectarine, melted butter and lemon curd, with hints of sweet oak and baking spices underscoring the fruit.
Palate
On the palate, layers of apricot, melon and quince are accompanied by notes of crème fraîche, piecrust and hazelnut. While the flavors are rich and opulent, this vibrant wine's cool-climate roots have contributed to its lovely poise, balance and long, intense finish.
Growing Conditions
The finest wine in our Chardonnay portfolio, Envoy is a limited-production bottling made using grapes from the very best vineyard blocks of the acclaimed Sangiacomo Vineyard in the Sonoma-Carneros region. This wine focuses on the Wente, Hyde and Robert Young selections of Chardonnay. These low-yielding selections have a track record of producing some of the best Chardonnays in California.
Harvest
2013 was one of the most idyllic growing seasons we have seen in many years, with picture-perfect weather from spring through harvest. Though late-2012 rains provided enough water to ensure adequate soil moisture, drought-like conditions throughout the 2013 growing season limited vine vigor and allowed us to further fine-tune our viticultural techniques. With temperatures that were neither too hot, nor too cold, we achieved ideal ripeness, while still preserving excellent natural acidity. With no threat of rain or heat events near harvest, we were able to pick all of our fruit precisely when we wished.
Winemaking
In the true Burgundian style, the wine was barrel fermented and underwent malolactic fermentation as it aged for eight months on the lees.
