2019 Skycrest Vineyard Chardonnay Anderson Valley Magnum

Perched atop the Northern range above Boonville sits the hidden (and aptly-named) Skycrest Vineyard. It was not planted with the idea of visitors in mind. As the name infers, Skycrest is a high elevation site. At 2,500' it is the Anderson Valley AVA's highest. Pushing out of fractured grey shale, the vineyard blooms and ripens 2-3 weeks later than the rest of the valley. It’s constantly in the wind making flowering difficult, berries small, and yields low. We selected two distinctive blocks here—one planted to old Wente Clone 72, the other to Clone 4. The C-72 provides the pleasure and the C-4 the tension! This racy mountain Chardonnay has great energy and drive. It's unlike any wine we have ever produced and seems to amplify the cool sunshine, forest, and proximate sea. There are alpine notes in the wine—pine needle and lemon verbena and pulverized rock. Sara has been pairing it with white sea bass smeared with miso butter, and steamed in a cabbage leaf.

AROMA

pennyroyal, bartlett pear, lime zest

FLAVOR

marzipan, preserved lemon, crushed rock

FOOD PAIRINGS

coquilles Saint-Jaques, pan-fried ling cod, cotoletta