2021 Burgundian Chardonnay

Classic southern White Burgundy style with good minerality, muted fruit, subtle oak and well-balanced aciditity.   Nice overall mouthfeel and finish.

A challenging harvest for many winemakers due to the high heat and fires.  Early morning manual harvest to minimize the effect of the excessively high temperature in September of 2020.  The fruit was picked and immediatly brought into the cool of the winery prior to pressing.  Livermore Valley, Pruett Estate Fruit

The objective in making this wine was to immulate the methods and style of wines of Southern Burgundy.  That is a very different approach than used in making some of the big, buttery Northern California Chardonnays.  Whole cluster pressing followed by barrel fermentation and sur lie aging for 6 months.  A yeast that was discovered and isolated from the Burgundy region was used to support the style and minerality objective.  Two French barrels were selected; one neutral and one new tight grain with medium toast.