Highland Chardonnay

Winemaker

Sam Smith

Appellation

Santa Lucia Highlands

Varieties

Chardonnay

Viticulture

Grapes are a combination of estate and sourced fruit, grown on slopes of 150m-550m in elevation with a Southeast facing exposition. The vines are VSP trained and are 20 years old on average. Harvest takes place by hand with an average yield of 3 tons/acre.

Soil

The soil is comprised of Chualar & Arroyo Seco loams.

Ratings & Reviews

Vinification

After harvest, the grapes undergo a direct press and the juice is transferred to barrels for fermentation. A blend of 50% selected yeast and 50% ambient yeast is used to begin the fermentation process, which will last about 15 days. 100% of the juice is fermented with the lees, but just 75% goes through malolactic fermentation. Total Sulfite count is 32 mg/L. Light filtration takes place prior to aging.

Aging

The wine is aged for 8 months in 60-gallon French oak barrels. Then, the wine ages for 4-10 more months in bottle prior to release.