2023 Sonoma County Chardonnay

You've heard about 2023, right? The return to a classic
California vintage. Wet spring. Good size crop. October
harvest dates. Low blood pressure. ;) The 2023 wines are
super fresh, fruit dense, and because of the extended hang
times—very aromatic. For this year's installment, we went back
to the original SoCo "recipe." All the fruit came from ranches in
the Russian River Valley / Sonoma Coast corridor. All of it was
hand picked in early to mid-October (in itself, a news story).
The fruit was crushed—in this case, foot tread, back at the
winery, and pressed out into stainless steel tanks. For the first
time in many years, we elected not to blend down any
barrel-fermented lots into SoCo—it's 100% tank fermented
and aged, and it shows the Chablis-like tension and minerality
we find only in the coldest growing years. This wine is
mouthwatering and buttressed with a low 3.4 pH. Opened
bottles should hold up for several days in the bar fridge...if
they last that long.

AROMA
lemon blossom, orchard fruits, crushed stone
FLAVOR
mineral, pomelo, white tea
FOOD PAIRINGS
fish & chips, fresh oysters, shrimp Scampi