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Behler Vineyard
Tasting Notes
Right from the start, you can sense the complexity imparted on this wine by its extended time in barrel. Alluring aromas are floral, with fresh peach and lemon curd. The palate is polished, with flavors of honeyed pear and vanilla. The weighted body is alluring without overpowering the palate or showing too much malolactic fermentation. The result is a creamier structure without a heavy viscosity. The wine finishes with a mellow, quenching acidity.
Vintage Notes
Our 2022 harvest began just a little earlier than the previous year, with the first fruit picked on August 15. Limited rainfall during the growing season produced slightly lighter crops, bringing intense, concentrated flavor and color. The consistent weather during the summer months helped maintain fruit acidity, bringing brightness and balance to the fruit’s flavors. Harvest continued through the middle of October when we picked the last red grapes from our Sonoma Valley estate, Wild Oak Vineyard.
Vineyard Notes
Our founder, Joe Martin, planted our first Chardonnay vines at Behler Vineyard in the early 1970s. The Sonoma Mountains frame this picturesque valley vineyard to the west and the Mayacamas Mountains to the east. Warm summer days are cooled by evening breezes and fog from the Pacific Ocean, resulting in complex flavors and elegant aromas. On this ranch we grow two distinct clones of Chardonnay. The Sterling clone is a Wente-variant producing wines with a fruity “musque” style, and the Mt. Eden clone of Chardonnay has smaller berries on tighter clusters but yields wines with beautiful, concentrated flavors and balanced acidity.
Winemaker Notes
Winemaker Katie Madigan crafts this wine in a richer, more opulent style than our other premium Chardonnays. Each block of Chardonnay clone from the Behler ranch is picked separately, with picking often occuring before daybreak and grapes delivered to the winery while still cold to preserve their delicate flavors, aromas and acidity. Grapes are pressed whole cluster, then fermented sur lie in a temperature-controlled room maintained at 55 degrees to ensure a slow fermentation. For this Extended Age wine, select barrels were set aside, chosen for their taste profile and acidity level, and given extra time for battonage (stirring) and ageing to impart a rounder, more complex mouthfeel.
