1999 J Chardonnay, Russian River Valley

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The Vineyards
The 1999 Estate Bottled Russian River Valley Chardonnay was created with 100% Chardonnay from two vineyards in the Russian River Valley: a bit of elegance from Nick & Nonny's Vineyard and bright floral flavors from our River Road Vineyard.

Processing
Selected grape clusters were hand harvested into thirty-five pound lugs and were hand-loaded, whole cluster, into our Coquard press for a gentle pressing cycle.

Ageing
Twenty percent of the juice fermented in French Oak barrels. Malolactic fermentation followed, and the remaining juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks until dry. Fifty percent of the wine fermented in stainless steel tanks went into an oak cask for aging. The other half was left in stainless steel tanks until blended for bottling. After bottling the wine aged for an additional ten months.

Tasting Notes
This wine captures lush tropical aromas of pineapple, pear, peach, banana and honeysuckle with a hint of toast, creating seamless flavors of creamy pear, peach, citrus zest with toasted-vanilla oak notes. The texture is smooth and sensual, with a long finish of apple and peach.

Harvest: October 3-4, 1999

Harvest Analysis: Average Brix 23.5°

Final Analysis: Alcohol 14% by volume

Bottling Date: July 31, 2000

1,500 cases bottled