The whole bunch is pressed to extract the purest Chardonnay juice but includes the hard pressings for weight and texture. Fermentation on some light solids lends weight, texture, and ultimately complexity. With the cooler season, we encouraged malolactic fermentation to soften the acidity. Only French oak is used with 10% new, the balance a mixture of older barrels, and maturation time 9 months before bottling in November.

Reflective of a cooler year, this Chardonnay displays oyster shell minerality with a grapefruit freshness, then some more weighty melon and pawpaw fruits. Bright, palate-tightening grapefruit acidity drives the long palate with texture from barrel fermentation. Malolactic fermentation fills out the middle palate bringing weight. A pithy texture lends weight and a long lingering finish delivers a refreshing wine.