Wines

Vintage

The 2007 growing season at Alder Springs Vineyard in northern Mendocino was superb. A heat wave near the end of the summer altered picking windows slightly, but the relatively cool temperatures and lack of significant precipitation throughout most of the year provided an ideal environment for the grapes. This meticulously farmed mountain vineyard yields gorgeous fruit even in an average vintage, but this year the excellent conditions created more concentrated berries and smaller clusters, resulting in wines of exceptional intensity and flavor.

Winemaking

Chardonnay grapes from the Alder Springs Vineyard were hand harvested and sorted on September 14th, 2007 before being 100% whole cluster pressed. The juice was then transfered into a 3/4 ton open top t-bin where native yeast fermentation was allowed to begin. Primary fermentation progressed slowly over a period of 25 days, with peak temperatures never exceeding 67 degrees. The wine was then racked gently into a 50% new french oak zebra barrel made by Francois Frere where it was later innoculated for malolactic fermentation. Bi-weekly batonage was utilized for added complexity and flavor components. The wine was bottled on September 15th, 2008 after one year in barrel, followed by an additional 9 months of bottle aging before being released on May 15th, 2009.