current release
2021 Willamette VALLEY chardonnay
winemaker notes
A youthful expression of the ripe and opulent 2021 vintage. Zippy aromatics showing marzipan, lemon peel, and Bosc pear. This wine shines in its youth, ready to drink and enjoy now.
winemaking details
Our Chardonnay is sorted slowly by hand and pressed whole cluster, with no settling time before barreling down. 100% barrel fermented in neutral vessels with native yeasts, undergoing full malolactic fermentation. Aged on lees for 11 months in 100% neutral French oak. Alcohol of 12.5%.
vintage notes
We kicked off harvest on August 30th and wrapped up Chardonnay the first week of September. On September 7th, we began harvesting and pressing our Rosé. By mid-September, we were well into picking out our Iron Filbert Vineyard. We started with Block 3, the bottom section of the vineyard and made our way up the hill steadily. The last pick for our Dundee Hills estate was on September 29th. As we slowly harvested our estate, the team was balancing new fruit and growing ferments. Many of the Chardonnay barrels had completed fermentation and required persistent topping to maintain high quality. We did gentle pump overs each morning. ''This year, we incorporated a small percentage of whole cluster into the ferments. In hot, riper vintages like we are working with now, the stems are lignified enough to benefit and add beautiful complexity to the ferments. '' We began draining, pressing, and barreling down during the last week of September. It is a satisfying moment for the team to tuck away full barrels and know that the wine is safe from the elements. We brought in our first fruit from the Quartz Acorn Vineyard on Friday, October 1st.
wine information
Fruit for our Willamette Valley label is sourced from our organically farmed our Iron Filbert Vineyard in the Dundee Hills and Quartz Acorn Vineyard in Yamhill-Carlton, featuring clones 76 and 95. Only 670 cases were produced in 2021.