The Experience
Aroma - fresh fruit salad aroma with lemon zest, peach, and, pineapple. Spicy oak with a hint of clove and honeysuckle.

Palate - Peach, lemon, and toffee-apple flavors with a touch of mineral, vanilla and spice. The palate is rich, and concentrated with a silky texture and creamy, nutty finish.

The Vineyards
The grapes for our 2002 Napa Valley Chardonnay came primarily from our Estate Vineyard in Carneros. The vineyard is located near the historic Winery Lake area of Los Carneros where chardonnay was first planted in Carneros about 25 years ago. We have seven different clone and rootstock combinations planted which give us a variety of aroma and flavor profiles to choose from when making our Napa Valley Chardonnay blend. The 2002 growing season started with a relatively cool spring followed by a warm dry summer. The harvest was relatively compact and on average was 7 to 10 days ahead of 2001. Chardonnay grape flavors were ripe and sweet with good concentration and lots of spicy, tropical fruit and zesty lemon flavors.

The Winemaking
Individual vineyard blocks were hand picked separately then carefully hand sorted at the winery before whole cluster pressing. After 48-72 hours cold settling at 45 degrees, the juice was gravity racked into French oak barrels for fermentation and ageing. The wine was aged on its lees and stirred weekly until malolactic fermentation was finished then left to naturally clarify in barrel. It was gently racked using a" Bulldog Pup" with nitrogen before being bottled.

Wine Facts
Harvest Dates: September 24-October 6, 2002
Growing Region: Carneros, Napa Valley
Vineyard: Vine Cliff Estate Vineyard
Crushing Regime: 100% Whole Cluster
Pre-fermentation Treatment: 72-hour cold settling
Fermentation: 50% Indigenous Yeast, 50% Cultured Yeast
Malolactic Fermentation: 100% ML
Barrel Composition: 50% New French Oak
Time in Barrels: 9 months
Filtration/Fining: Unfiltered
Blend Composition: 100% Chardonnay
Cases Produced: 3,637 Cases
Bottling Date: August 20-21, 2003

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