2006 DUTTON PALMS CHARDONNAY

The Wine
Dutton Palms Vineyard produces great clusters of berries that offer a combination of baking spices pineapple gravenstein apples balanced with soft acidity lended by the Green Valley Appelation. Aromas of ripe pear, baking spices with elegance and richness makes this a perfect example of cold climate chardonnay from the highest quality fruit being produced. A classis wine that lends well with traditional pairings such as lobster and white fish as well as having the ability to pair well with cheese, nuts and many salad components.

The Vineyard
Dutton Palms Vineyard, planted in 1991, is east facing and lies within the coolest part of the Green Valley. The hills and valley floor of Dutton Palms Vineyard consist of the traditional sandy loam Gold Ridge Soil, which is most prominent in the Green Valley and Russian River appellations. Dutton Palms is planted from the Chardonnay clone Warren Dutton used in 1967 to plant the original “Shop Block” Chardonnay vineyard at Dutton Ranch (Dutton Clone). Dutton Palms Vineyard highlights orange and citrus flavors and is extremely lush on the palate with a creamy texture.

The Winemaking
The fruit from the Dutton Palms Vineyard is gently whole cluster pressed. The juice racked with solids into barrels. Individual lots are barrel fermented using indigenous yeasts. Undergoing natural malolactic fermentation, the lees are stirred twice monthly until malolactic fermentatiomn is complete. The chardonnay is aged in French oak barrels chosen by our winemaker to emphasize the fruit and vineyard characteristics of the wine rather than highlighting the flavors of the barrels. After meticulously selecting each barrel for this vineyard-designate wine, the final blend of Dutton Palms Chardonnay is given time to marry and settle in the barrel non filtered for bottling in June 2006.

Tech Notes
2006 Dutton Palms Chardonnay
2005 Dutton Palms Chardonnay
2004 Dutton Palms Chardonnay