Appellation:

Monterey County AVA "Monterey County, Ca"

Vineyard:

The chardonnay fruit selected the 2010 "Stele" chardonnay comes from the 33 year old "Franscioni Vineyard" which lies 15 miles southeast of the Pacific Ocean in Monterey County, California. We selected this chardonnay vineyard due to the fact that the terrior is a perfect match for the style of wine in which we wanted to create. Composed of the famed chardonnay clones "Wente Clone" and "Dijon Clone" these vines & the ground in which they have taken root in had the perfect balance of P.H. and minerality. All the fruit used for this chardonnay was hand harvested and farmed exactly to the Joyce Family's specifications which consist of low yield, no pesticides and minimal watering which causes the vines to struggle and produce very complex fruit.

Alcohol:

13.7%

P.H.

3.4

Residual Sugar:

0.00%

Fermentation Technique:

100% small vat stainless steel primary fermentation (secondary malolactic fermentation was inhibited)

Tasting Notes:

The 2010 "Stele" Chardonnay is a new addition to our line up. This project derived from the youthful inspiration of Russell Joyce. Given Russell's travels and very sharp acute palate he wanted to create an alternative to our "Black Mountain Vineyard" Chardonnay. The alternative he chose was to create a light, crisp, Chablis-like domestic chardonnay for those white wine drinkers who prefer a lighter more crisp white wine instead of the bigger and richer style of chardonnay. To bring this project to fruition he chose the vineyard plot in which both winemaking counterparts agreed would be suited for this style. To further the refreshing crispness and acidity he chose to create this wine without and extraneous elements such as oak or secondary malolactic fermentation. After hand harvesting this fruit it was put straight into a whole cluster pressed where is was lightly pressed then transferred into small stainless steel vessels. The wine was then drawn out through a slow cold primary fermentation until completely dry. Once the wine was finished fermenting the decision was made to inhibit secondary malolactic fermentation which would cause the wine to become more rich and creamy, traits that we did not want.

The wine was chilled to a very cold temperature causing the yeast particles to condense at the bottom of the stainless steel vessels. It was then slowly drawn off the vessels via gravity flow, gently filtered then bottled. We feel that wine expresses exactly what we intended. Bright refreshing fruit up front combines with a nice crisp balance of acidity, minerality, citrus, agave and pineapple.

Retail:

$16.00 per bottle

Bottled:

March 2010