BACK
Wild Oak Vineyard
Tasting Notes
This is a Burgundian-style Chardonnay: delicate and refreshing with bright acidity. White peach, orange blossom, and honey aromas present along with flavors of Honeycrisp apple, pear, and sweet spices followed by a touch of minerality on the finish.
Vintage Notes
Warm sunny days throughout the spring and summer months set the stage for a spectacular harvest in September 2014. The lack of rain meant that harvest began a little earlier than normal and was short in length, finishing up by the end of October. The temperate days leading up to harvest produced good yields of high-quality fruit with concentrated flavors, complex aromatics, and excellent structure.
Vineyard Notes
The fruit for this lovely wine comes from our Wild Oak Estate Vineyard located at the base of majestic Sugarloaf Ridge and Hood Mountain in historic Sonoma Valley. The rock and gravel that has washed down over the centuries provide an ideal soil for Chardonnay and the region’s moderate climate prolongs ripening and hang time, promoting natural balance in this wine.
Winemaker Notes
The fruit is picked at night and delivered to the winery while still cold to preserve the wine’s delicate flavors, aromas, and acidity. Grapes are pressed whole cluster, then fermented sur lie in a temperature-controlled room kept at 55 degrees to ensure slow fermentation. The wine undergoes partial malolactic fermentation and is stirred by hand three times per week to increase mid-palate intensity. Winemaker Katie Madigan ages this wine for seven months in French oak barrels, 60% new, with a light, soft toast to create a creamy mouthfeel without heavy oak notes.
