This Chardonnay draws you in with layers of juicy, ripe fruit, perfume, wet stone minerality, and lush floral aromas. On the palate, it is crisp and fresh, with bright, focused fruit and heady notions of perfume that echo the aromas.
In order to maximize quality, all grapes went directly to press as whole clusters. After pressing and settling, the juice was racked into French oak barrels for fermentation. This wine completed malolactic fermentation and was aged in barrel for 10 months on the lees, with occasional stirring to increase richness and body. It was aged exclusively in French oak barrels, 17% of which were new, and 26% one-year-old, prior to bottling on August 16, 2023.
The 2022 vintage was impacted by a third consecutive year of drought that resulted in up to a 10-30% reduction in yields. The growing season was temperate, which in grape growing means we were on track or ahead of normal growth. Then we saw some heat spikes that prompted our first picks. 2022 was a year for vintage-to-vintage variation and differentiation between vineyards. The grapes used to craft this wine were harvested on August 24, 2022.
The Dutton family has been growing grapes in Sonoma County—specifically the Russian River Valley—for generations. Their fruit is highly prized, as their knowledge of the land and meticulous farming has resulted in exceptional consistency and quality over the years. The Clone 96 grapes for this Chardonnay came exclusively from the Dutton’s Braughton Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, where the marine influence produces an intense fog layer that regularly covers the region during the growing season, creating a perfect microclimate for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.