Director's Cut Chardonnay 2018

Description

Unlike the early harvest of the previous year, there were fewer heat spikes, ripening the fruit more slowly, and developing good weight, fragrance, and yield. Once picked, our Chardonnay was whole-cluster pressed and fermented in small French oak barrels to achieve a rich, creamy mouthfeel with plentiful spice nuances. The climate of the Russian River Valley is greatly influenced by fog that rolls in each evening from the nearby Pacific Ocean which cools the vineyards down from their daytime temperature by as much as 35 to 40 degrees, allowing the grapes to ripen slowly and retain acidity.