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$28.00

A favorite of Signorello Vineyards, this white wine is made from 100% Estate Napa Valley Chardonnay and boasts rich fruit flavors.

Tasting Notes

The nose opens with intense tropical fruit, toast and mineral aromas. Rich fruit flavors, especially of apple and pear enhance the lush palate. A touch of spice with hints of clove, cinnamon and nutmeg is also noticed. An apple-like crispness balances these silky, toasty layers. Drinkability: now to 2010.

Winemaking Notes

Careful pressing of whole clusters minimized skin contact. This gentle process helps the wine achieve balance as well as develop a silky mouth-feel and enhances the aging potential. Using native yeasts, the wine was fermented in French oak barrels with none of the wine undergoing a second, malolactic fermentation. Tonnelleries: Franois Frres and Damy. Oak types: Allier, Troncais and Vosges. The wine spent 11 months on the lees in French oak followed by racking and bottling on June 19, 2006.

Vineyard Notes

This Chardonnay was grown exclusively on our two vineyards on the Silverado Trail in the Oak Knoll area. The shallow, rocky hillside of one vineyard planted in 1980 stressed the vines sufficiently during the growing season to ensure intense varietal character. Located on the valley floor, the other vineyard produced fruit with a lush tropical flavor. We employed a variety of techniques in managing each vineyard's microclimate including vertical trellising, leaf removal and crop reduction.

Harvest Report

Winemakers are predicting a memorable vintage for 2005 with fruit that bears the imprint of an early spring and a slow and steady ripening period that ended with a fast, hot finish several weeks ahead of traditional harvest timelines. Positive reports extend out beyond Signorello Vineyards as good news came covering multiple varietals and districts. The white wines are powerful and aromatic and the reds are concentrated, deeply colored wines with firm acidity and full tannins.