La Crema Chardonnay Sonoma Coast

Description

”This vintage opens with bright aromas of lemon drop, supported by ripe pear, toffee and hints of jasmine. The palate adds flavors of stone fruit and yellow plum, with lively citrus notes. Sweet vanilla and lingering baking spice add richness and texture to the long, fresh finish. Elizabeth Grant-Douglas, WinemakerTHE SERIES SONOMA COAST Since 1979, La Crema has crafted the traditional wine varietals of Burgundy in the cool vineyards of the Sonoma Coast. This coastal regions boundary begins at the Mendocino County border, continues along the western coastal edge of Sonoma County through the mouth of the Russian River Valley, and extends to the Los Carneros region on the southern Sonoma/Napa border. Our Sonoma Coast wines are a salute to the tremendously fresh, concentrated and layered palette of flavors offered by these coastal vineyards. Crafted one barrel at a time at our family-owned winery, Sonoma Coast wines offer exceptional balance and fruit intensity.THE PLACE SONOMA COAST Like the Burgundy wine region of France, the vineyards of Sonoma Coast offer an unusually long, cool and steady growing season. Lingering fog and wind from the nearby Pacific Ocean moderate temperatures throughout the growing season and contribute to the slow ripening process. With an extended hang time on the vines, the results are small berries with firm acidity and highly concentrated aromas and flavors.THE VINTAGE 2012 After several challenging vintages, winemakers and growers were thrilled to report that the 2012 season in Northern California was ideal. Budbreak and set happened right on schedule and fruit ripened slowly and evenly in the relatively mild conditions, developing beautiful concentration and lush fruit character during an extended hang time on the vine. Chardonnay developed beautifully with this additional time to mature, while retaining its natural juicy acidity and freshness. The Chardonnay harvest began on the Sonoma Coast on September 18, and wrapped up October 30.THE TECHNIQUE ARTISAN – FROM START TO FINISH Chardonnay for this release was selected from cool vineyard sites within the Sonoma Coast boundaries. A variety of clones were selected to achieve rich layers and complex, intense aromatics in the glass, including Clones Clone 4, Dijon, Robert Young, 809, Rued and Wente. To avoid damage to the clusters, fruit was picked in the coolest parts of the day and delivered to the winery in small, half-ton bins. The fruit was carefully sorted before pressing; hand-picked lots were immediately whole cluster pressed.After all the fruit was pressed and settled overnight, the juice was racked for inoculation. The majority of the juice was barreled down in French oak for primary fermentation, with a small percentage fermented in stainless steel to preserve fresh fruit tones. 100% of the wine underwent secondary malolactic fermentation using a house strain of ML culture, converting strong malic acids to softer, round lactic acids. The less were stirred every three to four weeks for 4 months, then racked off the lees just prior to blending for bottling. Toast levels of the barrels ranged from medium to medium plus, adding additional layers of spice, texture and vanilla.”- La Crema