2013 Mindego Ridge Vineyard Chardonnay
$62
100% estate, single vineyard fruit. Winemaker is San Francisco Chronicle's Winemaker of the Year Ehren Jordan. With only 1.5 acres of Chardonnay planted, the vineyard is composed of silty clay loam over sandstone and fractured shale. 2014 Chardonnay shows graphite, smoke, peach, mint and honey. Aromatics slightly reductive so give the 2014 some air. Shows the more extroverted, flamboyant side of what is possible in The Santa Cruz Mountains.
“The 2013 Chardonnay offers a super-intriguing interplay of the vivid, crystalline purity that is such a signature of the appellation, along with soft contours that give the wine much of its welcoming personality. Scents of dried pear, apricot, flowers, mint and white pepper add to the wine’s considerable appeal. This is a wine with tons of potential, especially as the vines get older." Drinking window: 2015-2021. 93 Points. -Antonio Galloni
Technical Notes
In The Vineyard
We were blessed with a great vintage and healthy tonnage in 2013. Mid March budbreak was protected from frost by early April cloud cover, followed by a uniform bloom in mid May and a propitious growing season. With its marine influence, our site has an extended growing season – 2013 Chardonnay ripened into early October, with harvest commencing October 3rd.
In The Cellar
To preserve the character of both the vineyard and vintage, the grapes are whole-cluster pressed directly to 15% new, 70% neutral French oak and 15% stainless steel. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeast followed by native ML fermentation, with 11 months on lees. This gentle process provides us a stable wine requiring neither fining nor filtration before bottling.
Data
Appellation: Santa Cruz Mountains
Winemaker: Ehren Jordan
Acreage: 1.3 acres Chardonnay, 100% Estate Grown
Exposure & Slope: South facing mountain slopes, 15-20%
Soil Type: 10-18” of silty clay loam over fractured shale subsoil
Marine Influence: 9 miles from the Pacific, adjacent to redwoods
Elevation: 675’ to 725’
Clone Selection: Dijon (17, 76, 96)
Rootstock Selection: 3309
Vine Spacing: 7’ x 4’ (1600 vines/acre)
Yield: 3 tons per acre
Harvest: October 3, 2013
Barrel Regimen: French Oak, François Frères, 15% new, 70% neutral; 15% stainless steel
Barrel Aging: 11 months
Finished Alcohol: 13.8%
Chemistry @ Harvest: 21.7 Brix, 3.28 pH, 6.6 g/L TA
Bottled: August 12, 2014
295 Cases produced
