We began harvesting the Chardonnay from Paul Larson’s Carneros District vineyard on October 18, and it was one of the most bountiful and tasty crops from those vines in the 20 years that we’ve worked together.

I adore the long, exotic finish, and we enjoy it frequently as a change of pace to our home vineyard bottling. A couple of weeks tasting wines in France can change the way you look at a lot of things.

The wine is dark and rich, with an attractive aroma of spice, black cherry, and an earthy minerality. The flavors of blueberry and cassis are charming and complex.

We aged the new wine in the barrels for ten months, in constant contact with the yeast lees. This procedure allows for the development of what the French call ‘Noisette’, an aroma reminiscent of Hazelnut that is a valuable part of the aging process.