2021 Chardonnay, Durell Vineyard Sonoma Coast

Vineyard: The famed Durell Vineyard lies in the southernmost part of Sonoma Valley, within the Sonoma Coast appellation. The site is less than 10 miles from the San Pablo Bay and on the edge of the Petaluma Gap, with afternoon breezes that draw in cooling fog most days during the growing season. The vineyard’s unique mix of cool coastal and warm valley floor microclimates, combined with rocky creek bed soils, and the Dijon clones produces small, intensely flavored grape clusters. This was intensified in 2021, a superb growing season that saw smaller cluster counts and size with excellent fruit concentration and tannic impression. 

Winemaking: In keeping with our commitment to promoting individual sight signature, we employ similar winemaking with all our Chardonnays. In keeping with this, our 2021 Durell Vineyard Chardonnay was picked under lights in the very early morning and whole fruit pressed. After settling for three days, the juice was racked to 50% new French oak barrels and inoculated with a low rate of Burgundian yeast. The wine was cold barrel fermented at 58-68°F for over 100 days before aging for an additional 14 months; undergoing a true secondary malolactic fermentation in the spring. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

WS 93pts, JS 94pts, JD 93pts, SJ 96pts, WE 94pts

Tech Info:

Suggested Price:        $75/bottle                        Aging:   17 mo in 50% New French Oak 
Case Production:       218 cases                          Bottled Date:  March 09, 2023           
Harvest Date:             September 11, 2021          Alc:  14.4
Brix at Harvest:          23.7                                    TA:    6.1                                   
Clone:                         Mt Eden, Rued/Sees        pH:   3.23