2022 Chardonnay, Sonoma County

Vintage 2022 was shaping up a lot like 2021. Another drought year with very small yields and near ideal growing weather. That is...until Labor Day Weekend at which time California was braced by a historic meteorological event called a Heat Dome. Followed by an early September rain squall! The vintage will be divided into three chapters--fruit picked before the heat/rain, fruit picked during the heat/rain, and fruit picked after the heat/rain. Our preference for low brix fruit allowed us to begin harvesting Chardonnay on August 28th. By Sept 2nd, we had picked most of the fruit for this cuvee—before the heat/rain began to wreck havoc. This early-picked fruit had brilliant chemistry, as drought vintage fruit often does, and deeply concentrated flavors. Since 2019 we have been declassifying barrels of Chardonnay from top tier LIOCO cuvees into this wine. SoCo will always be defined by its mouth watering, steely freshness ala the Louis Michel Chablis that inspired it, but the barrel fermented additions have added complexity and mouth feel without any trace of oakiness.

AROMA

tangerine oil, fresh fennel frond, shale

FLAVOR

lemon custard, river stone, fresh thyme

FOOD PAIRINGS

chicken paillard, fried fish sandwich, cauliflower gratin