2017 Durell Vineyard Chardonnay
Spicy, lifted nose showing pine forest, shaved fennel bulb, licorice, dried apricot and beeswax. Flavors are round and rich with a dense core of dried pineapple, peach and clove. The broad palate is dense and full while refreshing acid leads the finish to a crisp resolution.
The 2017 growing season was far from normal. It kicked off with record rainfall, a welcome addition after almost five years of drought. In the early spring the weather began to clear, and the growing season began to look up with sunny and warm conditions. Around flowering, weather conditions started to oscillate between foggy and windy days and unusually hot spikes. This continued into June, where unseasonably hot weather left clusters with small berries and a much lighter crop than predicted. All our vineyards were picked before the fires in October.
Durell Vineyard is located in the southwestern part of the Sonoma Valley. Our 3.5-acre section of the vineyard is known as the “Sand Hill” block—a rolling section of uplifted sandy, ancient ocean floor offering superb drainage and austere, low-vigor soils. Though planted in the early 1990s, over the past several years, Sand Hill has been the focus of extensive viticultural work. This has further elevated the quality of the Dijon Clone 76 grapes from these two-decade old vines. The result is a powerfully textured wine that also offers alluring aromatics and bright, fresh fruit.
100% Whole-cluster pressed
100% Burgundian French oak barrels (35% new; 65% 1-2-year old)
Bottled without filtration to preserve the wine’s aromas and flavors and enhance aging potential
- Type:
- White
- Varietal:
- Chardonnay
- Region:
- California
- Appellation:
- Sonoma Valley
- Vintage:
- 2017
- Blend:
- 100% Chardonnay fruit
- Aging:
- Sur lie aged with weekly stirring
- Alcohol:
- 14.2
- Fermentation:
- 100% indigenous yeast fermentations; 100% malo-lactic fermentation in barrel