2020 Skycrest Vineyard Chardonnay, Anderson Valley

Skycrest is one of the more exciting vineyard discoveries our team has made in recent years. Pushing out of fractured grey shale on the Northern ridge lines 2500' above Boonville, this lofty vineyard is constantly in the wind making flowering difficult, berries small, and yields low. We selected (and ultimately blended) 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 seems to amplify the cool sunshine, forest, and proximate sea. Sara has been pairing it with white sea bass smeared with miso butter, and steamed in a cabbage leaf.