2020 Chardonnay
Edna Valley
We grow Chardonnay at Jespersen Ranch in the Edna Valley. The vineyard is nestled into a hillside just three miles from the Pacific Ocean and derives much of its personality from the coast.
In 2020 we hand-harvested all of our Chardonnay between August 31st and September 10th, an intentionally early pick as we wanted to maintain the bright acidity from the coastal site. We hand-sorted and lightly pressed the whole clusters directly into barrel for fermentation, and aged the juice in lightly toasted French oak barrels, 50% of which were new. After 11 months in barrel, we selected the best barrels to compose the final blend, and returned the blend to neutral oak barrels for four additional months. The extra four months in barrel evolved the secondary fruit flavors and added complexity to the final wine. With hints of lemon cream, jasmine and pie crust this wine is a wonderful balance of acid and creaminess.