Vintage

The 2017 harvest was one of the most difficult in the history of the North Coast. It began with a record heat wave over Labor Day and ended abruptly with the horrific fires that erupted in the second week of October. Chardonnay can be sensitive to hot weather and with temperatures hitting 110 °F on two consecutive days the situation was dire. However, we did not panic, and worked closely with the team at Black Knight to aggressively water the vines to prevent them from shutting down and ending the ripening process prematurely, and to stop the grapes from shriveling. Our efforts were so successful the grapes continued to mature beautifully until harvest on September 22nd, nearly three weeks after the heat wave.

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Winemaking

This wine was made very similarly to our popular 2016 Chardonnay. Our grape clusters were hand sorted and then immediately pressed. The juice was then transferred to French oak barrels for fermentation. The fermentation was done entirely by native and resident yeasts. As with the 2016 Chardonnay, a small portion of the wine, was fermented and aged in a small stainless steel tank. The wine was aged in the barrels on the lees for eight months. One day prior to bottling, the wine from the barrels and tank was combined to create an incredibly complex Chardonnay with wonderful mouthfeel and bright acidity.

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Awards

• Silver Medal - 2020 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

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