Taste: Brilliant gold color indicates new-oak influence. Ripe aromas of fig, pear, and quince rise up to greet you. On the palate linger ripe Crenshaw melon, apple tart flavors, and a cream bright beam of honeyed acidity with hints of beeswax. It finishes deliciously bright with hints of toasty hazelnut and beeswax.
This is the sister wine to Lot 91 but considerably different thanks to far more new oak and a richer, more lush style.
Cameron Confidential: A famous Sonoma winery approached us late last summer with an opportunity: They had contracted two ranches for additional growth but had been unable as yet to use the fruit. Rather than break the contracts they wanted to make the wines for us. With supply tightening on Chardonnay we leaped at the opportunity.
The house style of this producer is to produce a brighter RRV Chardonnay, with judicious use of oak and no malolactic fermentation. These wines are built to pair well with food, and this is evidenced by the producer's huge presence on US wine lists. This winery's production processes are second to none with hand-sorting, whole cluster pressing, and top-quality French oak barrel fermentations. 50% of this blend was fermented in new oak barrels and is one of three blends we assembled from the numerous blocks harvested from two Russian River Valley ranches. Compare at $25 – $30, which is where this producer's RRV Chard is priced.
Staff Picks
Lot 101
2007 Russian River Valley Chardonnay
- Vintage: 2007
- Appellation: Russian River Valley
- Grape: Chardonnay
- Alcohol by volume: 13.9%
- Production: 7,165 cases
- Release date: May 28, 2009
- Drink/Hold: Summer 2009 through 2015
- Online availability: Sold out
Downloads
- Lot 101 small notes (pdf)
- Lot 101 8.5 x 11 (pdf)
- Lot 101 sign (pdf)
