Fall Release Chloe Chardonnay
2020

Winemaker’s Notes

Traditionally the richest Chardonnay each vintage, our Chloe bottling is grown on clay soils in the warmer central district of the Russian River Valley, inland from the coastal vineyards. Distinct from our other Sonoma Chardonnays, there’s no sand to be found in these soils, so this wine is layered, textural, and deeply flavored and leads with volume and generosity out front. Which is not to downplay its vibrancy or freshness, as it balances all this vineyard-derived richness with prominent poised acidity. For lovers of Californian fruit and layered opulence, this is the wine for you. The wine can be enjoyed on release and aged for up to eight years. Serve at 55°F and decant for an hour ahead of time if possible.

Complex aromatics combine Asian pear, chamomile, and clove with peach skin and floral notes. There’s an edge of spicy pepper and flint. The wine’s deep core is driven by white peach and nectarine flavors—ebullient, ripe, and concentrated. As the wine grows in the glass honeyed citrus flavors come forth. The texture is oily, deep, and broad, then cut with vibrant lilting acidity. A wine of balance and harmony despite its considerable richness.

Andy Smith