Appellation:

Santa Lucia Highlands AVA "Monterey County, Ca"

Vineyard:

The Black Mountain Vineyard is nestled in the heart of the infamous growing region of the Santa Lucia Highlands. This vineyard is nestled high in the SLH appellation back up against the Santa Lucia Highland mountain range which separates the Salinas valley from Carmel valley.  This special vineyard is composed Dijon and Wente chardonnay clones.  The setting of this vineyard combined with the ideal climate conditions of mildly warm days with cool nights blanketed by costal fog allows these chardonnay vines to produce some the finest fruit the Santa Lucia Highlands appellation has to offer. This vineyard uses natural farming practices.

Alcohol:

14.2%

P.H.

3.39

Residual Sugar:

0.00%

Malolactic:

40% malolatic fermentation.

Fermentation Technique:

Barrel fermented w/ sur lee yeast stirred 2x per week.

Tasting Notes:

This chardonnay was aged in French oak barrels for 1 year.  When aging, this chardonnay received only 25% new oak barrels while the rest was aged in a combination neutral French oak barrels and stainless steel tanks.  This chardonnay has flavors of gentle citrus, pear and peach and a hint of pineapple which combines with nice flavors of wet stone-like minerality and then finishes with a very clean & crisp balance of acidity.

Retail:

$21.50 per bottle

Bottled:

January 2009