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Varietal
Chardonnay
Vintage
2016
Wildcat Mountain
Vintage
2016
Appellation
Sonoma Coast
Appellation
Sonoma Coast
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Tasting NotesWildcat Mountain Vineyard Chardonnay always delivers something special and unique, and this vintage is no exception. Both intricate and exotic, this wine begins with alluring aromas of Asian pear and fragrant orange blossom. On the palate, a round, rich mouthfeel accentuates Wildcat’s signature high-tone notes of honey and spice. At the same time, thanks to Wildcat’s windy growing conditions, which thicken the grape skins, it has beautiful structure and body.
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Accolades94 Points: Exciting, distinctive; a wine that transcends simple typicity to its region or variety; a vivid, singular expression of place – “Steve MacRostie planted this vineyard in 1998, at elevations rising to 700 feet in the Petaluma Gap. The soils are volcanic, the cool winds and fog accounting for the crunchy brightness of this wine’s flavors. It has the white-flower scent of fresh cream, that creaminess incorporated into the elegant texture. The ripe lime flavors last with the blue-sky clarity of the coast.” – Josh Greene, June 2018, Wine & Spirits
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Wine OriginThe 2016 vintage had early budbreak and an aggressive growing season. Then just when we were about to pick, cool temperatures in August slowed everything down. Grapes were picked from five distinct blocks planted to five different clones: 95, 76, 4, 17 and 15. Each block had a unique harvest picking date between September 13th and 28th, 2016.
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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 22% 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 very best barrels from each lot were then selected for our Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Chardonnay. The wine was bottled on August 16th, 2017.