The Experience
Aroma: Classic Carneros passionfruit and tropical fruit with hints of orange rind, lemon and stone fruits. Lots of clove, honeysuckle and oak flavor with hints of lees, wet stone and flint.

Palate: Fresh musk melon, apple pie, cinnamon spice and pineapple flavors. Rich, round and creamy palate with vanilla and butterscotch. Complex and long with roasted nuts, lemon peel, apple and peach flavors lingering on the finish.

The Vineyard
The grapes for Vine Cliff Winery's 2004 Los Carneros Chardonnay came from our twelve acre Estate Vineyard in the heart of the Los Carneros appellation. This vineyard is near the historic Winery Lake District, where Chardonnay was first planted over three decades ago. The Los Carneros appellation is ideal for growing Chardonnay because of its cooler climate. Cool foggy mornings in conjunction with the afternoon sea breezes allow the grapes to have a longer than average hang time for flavor development, while still retaining higher natural acidity. Our vineyard has seven individual blocks which are planted with five different Chardonnay clones. This diversity gives us a greater breadth of aroma and flavor profiles from which to choose when creating our final blend. The 2004 chardonnay harvest season was very compact due to low yields coupled with warm weather in Sept. Harvest began about ten days earlier than 2003.

The Winemaking
Grapes from individual vineyard blocks were hand picked separately then carefully hand sorted at the winery before whole cluster pressing. After cold settling, the juice was gravity racked into French oak barrels for fermentation and aging. We use traditional Burgundian wine making techniques to create our Los Carneros Chardonnay. This wine was aged on its lees for eleven months in French Oak barrels before being gently racked with nitrogen before bottling. The character of our 2004 Los Carneros Chardonnay blend reflects the grapes from which it was made. The Dijon clones give the blend sweet aromatics of peach and nectarine stone fruits with a soft creamy texture. And last but not least, our trusty UC Davis clone 4 adds hints of fresh squeezed orange juice, lemon and gives the palate incredible body, concentration and richness.

Wine Facts
Harvest Dates: September 7 ~ September 17, 2004
Growing Region: Los Carneros, Napa Valley
Cases Produced: 1800 cases
Bottling Date: August 15th, 2005

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