After twenty three vintages of Chardonnay, I thought I would throw out a curve ball with the first ever non oak fermented, non malo-lactic and non oak aged Chardonnay our winery has produced.  This style of Chardonnay has recently been introduced to a seemingly enthusiastic audience, so I was curious to see what the response would be if we produced a small trial bottling.

The grapes for this wine came from a new vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills, located just a few miles from the Babcock and Melville vineyards and wineries along Highway 246.  This was the first year of production, so the small vines produced just over one ton per acre.

The grapes were pressed off and the juice settled before being racked to stainless steel drums for fermentation.  After the wine completed fermentation, the wine was racked and returned to the drums to settle until being fined, filtered and bottled in mid-April 2005.

The wine has a pale straw gold color.  It has forward aromas of pears, coconut, and lycee nuts.  On the palate the wine is medium bodied, with a rich oily texture, and round soft flavors of pears.  This wine is immediately enjoyable now and for another twelve to fourteen months.

Serve chilled with fruit and cheese salads, delicate fish prepared with white wine sauces and seafood pastas.

Rick Longoria,
Winemaker
August 15, 2005

Compostion: 100% Chardonnay: Zotovich Family Vineyard

Production: 88 cases
Lab analysis is not available at this time.
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