2022 Chardonnay Reserve

LIGHTY OAKED WITH NICE MINERALITY

Vineyard: SFV Estate
Alcohol: 13.5 % ABV
Sugar: 14.21 g/L
pH: 3.66
Total Acidity: 
Aging: 1 month American oak
Brix at Harvest: 23.30
Malic Acid: 3.1
Body: full, crisp
Nose: wet stone, orange, lemon pear, dill
Mouth: dill, lemon, melon
Finish: long, lemon, orange

For years we have been debating if you can have a barrel aged chardonnay with nice minerality.  You may remember our early attempts, for example the 2012 vintage was made by splitting the wine into 2 equal lots.  Half was aged in stainless steel to keep the minerality.  The other half was aged in new French oak barrels to get those barrel toast notes.  The two were blended back together to try and get the best of both worlds.  As you may expect what we got was "not enough oak" for those who like a barrel aged chardonnay and "too much oak" for those who like a stainless chardonnay. We gave up on the idea of having a barrel aged chardonnay with minerality and started making two separate chardonnays every year. The "Reserve Chardonnay" was barrel aged and the "Chardonnay" was done in stainless steel.  We decided to try again.  So on the 2022 chardonnay reserve  we attempted to keep the minerality of the wine through the barrel aging process and I believe it was a success.

This wine is balanced in so many ways with wonderful complexity.  This is one of my favorite chardonnays we have done in quite some time.  You are going to love it.

Silver at 2024 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition