
Varietal
Chardonnay
Vintage
2017
Olivet Lane
Vintage
2017
Appellation
Russian River Valley
Appellation
Russian River Valley
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Tasting NotesThis exotic and enticing Chardonnay shows spice and floral oak aromas on the nose that meld with notes of Meyer lemon and fresh pear. A crisp entry unfurls into a creamy mid-palate, enhanced by flavors of Braeburn Apple and lime zest that linger during the long, complex finish.
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Wine OriginPlanted by the Pellegrini family in 1975, today, Olivet Lane is managed by the fourth generation of the family to be involved in winegrowing. The vineyard, which is named for the mature olive trees at the property entrance, is located in the Santa Rosa Plain neighborhood of Russian River Valley, on an undulating benchland of well-drained, gravelly, clay loam soil. The foundation of this wine is the coveted Old Wente selection, a heritage clone that has played a key role in some of California’s greatest Chardonnays.
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Production NotesThe 2017 growing season started off as a wet one. Record rainfall through April invigorated the vines and bolstered canopies. Moderate-to-warm temperatures followed, allowing the vines to bloom and mature fruit in a balanced and tempered way. We did apply more leafing in our canopy management to counter the invigorating effects of the rain. All of our Chardonnay blocks were picked prior to the devastating wine country fires in early October, leaving all wine lots free of possible smoke influence. Grapes were picked on September 4th, 2017.
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Winemaker NotesThe grapes went directly to press as whole clusters. The resulting juice was cold settled, racked off of its press lees, and moved directly to barrel for a cool fermentation. It was then aged in these same French oak barrels for 10 months, with 33% of the oak being new. The fermentation lees were stirred several times throughout the aging process. Once malolactic conversion was complete, the wine was left to age. The wine was bottled on August 13th, 2018.