Produced from the first Chardonnay vines planted high on our Mountain Estate, this wine is named for Fred and Juelle's firstborn daughter, Whitney.
Harvested August 26th and August 30th
Juice cold settled in tank for 24 hours and moved to barrel by gravity
Fermented and aged 16 months in French oak barrels (39% new)
No inoculations for primary or secondary fermentation
No sulfite additions during aging
Lees stirred twice monthly for 14 months
Bottled unfined and unfiltered
First planted in 1973 to Old Wente clone Chardonnay, Whitney's Vineyard grows at 1,000 feet elevation on a gravelly, gently sloping, southwestern facing hillside. Owing to its mountain heritage and low-nutrient soils, this site produces tiny clusters of tightly packed ‘hens and chicks’ (berries of wide ranging size) yielding wines that boast brilliant minerality and classic Chardonnay character. This site was replanted in two phases with greater vine density, establishing new vines in 2013 and 2016, all grafted to original clonal material.
Produced from the first Chardonnay vines planted high on our Mountain Estate, this wine is named for Fred and Juelle's firstborn daughter, Whitney.
Harvested August 26th and August 30th
Juice cold settled in tank for 24 hours and moved to barrel by gravity
Fermented and aged 16 months in French oak barrels (39% new)
No inoculations for primary or secondary fermentation
No sulfite additions during aging
Lees stirred twice monthly for 14 months
Bottled unfined and unfiltered
The 2022 Whitney's Vineyard, Chardonnay is an effusive wine with brilliant aromatic qualities of citrus peel, honeysuckle, white flower, cucumber and geranium. Notes of flinty wet stone minerality are followed on the palate by flavors of kumquat, white fig, bees wax and crisp mountain acidity. Remarkable complexity and balance with lengthy finish make this wine a showstopper!