Sangiacomo Vineyard Chardonnay Carneros

Chardonnay - Sangiacomo Vineyards of Sonoma-Carneros (Blocks: 36% Novillero, 35% Catarina, 29% Green Acres)

The grapes were hand harvested in the dark early morning under the bright tractor lights. These night picks allow the cool fog to keep the grapes fresh prior to their delivery to the winery. The grapes were whole bunch pressed and kept overnight in a cool tank, where the next morning the juice is inoculated, stirred up, and then moved to barrel (20% new French) for the primary fermentation. Every barrel is allowed to go through malo-lactic fermentation naturally. Each barrel is then monitored for flavor profile changes, and each barrels malo-lactic fermentation is halted at the perfect point, which lead to 50% malic to lactic conversion this year.

The 2022 Sangiacomo Chardonnay has a beautiful full gold core. The aromatics leap out of the bottle upon opening. There is a range of fruit on the nose from bosc pear and apricot to guava and passionfruit. In addition, there is some jasmine spice and rosewater perfume. The wine is very rich this year, with the stone fruit and soapstone minerality prevailing on the pallet. The acidity is present but softer than in previous years. A wonderful expressive wine in its youth, this wine will age nicely over the next 5-6 years (2028-2029).