Chardonnay ‘La Storia’ Russian River Valley

Winemaker

Miro Tcholakov

Appellation

Russian River Valley

Varieties

Chardonnay

Viticulture

The grapes were sourced from two Russian River vineyards - an established, old vines vineyard, with very small berries and clusters providing great concentration of aromas and flavors and a young but promising block full of enthusiasm.

Ratings & Reviews

Vineyard

The 200 acre Geyserville Estate Vineyard consists of 12 red grape varietals, varying in age from 4 to 128 years old. While the majority of the vines are supported by trellis wires, the Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Carignane blocks are head pruned, which allows these varieties to produce higher quality fruit. Although more labor is involved in farming grapes this way, the improved fruit quality outweighs the increase time and labor cost. All of the fruit is handpicked, mostly at night which keeps the temperature of the juice from 50 to 60 ° F, which preserves and enhances the flavors of the grapes. Soil-building cover crops are used to add nutrients and nitrogen into the soil, as well as control erosion and suppress unwanted weeds, which is part of the winery's sustainable farming efforts. Nothing goes to waste as grape stems and pomace for instance, are composted, turning them into a nutrient-rich material that can be used in the vineyards.

Vinification

The grapes were hand-picked early in the morning at the lowest temperature possible. Fruit is pressed directly without destemming for preserving more of the delicate aromas. The entire lot was barrel fermented with partial malolactic fermentation to preserve the fruit expression of the grapes and to keep more of the natural acidity and freshness. The lees on the bottom of the barrels was stirred twice per month for increased mouth feel and viscosity.

Aging

2022 vintage- 100% Barrel fermented in 22% New French Oak for 5 months
2023 vintage- 10 months; 100 % Barrel Fermented and Aged in 25% New French Oak, 15% 1 year old French oak, the balance in older,
neutral barrels

Features

Bottle, Cork

Available Sizes (L)

0.750