The Experience
Aroma: The aroma displays a complex array of fresh pineapple and mango, sweet lemon, with hints of peach jam and apricot. Cinnamon, clove, and sweet vanilla add richness to the underlying scent of honeysuckle and creamy caramel.

Palate: The palate has juicy peach, lychee and grilled pineapple flavors at entry, then displaying a core of sweet ripe apricot and apple. The flavors build with vanilla and brown sugar which gives the wine a smooth, round syrupy texture. The finish is long and lingering with nutmeg and crème brulee.

The Vineyard
Vine Cliff Winery’s picturesque twelve-acre Estate Chardonnay vineyard is in the heart of the Los Carneros appellation. Our vineyard is down a county lane from 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. These cool foggy mornings in conjunction with the afternoon breezes off San Pablo Bay 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. Cool ripening conditions and unsettled weather, during the 2006 harvest, compacted our picking into just four days. The result is a wine with beautiful flavors, crisp natural balance and a rich supple texture and a long harmonious finish.

The Winemaking
Grapes from individual vineyard blocks were hand picked separately, in the cool early morning, 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. The character of our 2006 Los Carneros Chardonnay blend reflects the grapes from which it was made, a blend of 81% Dijon clones and 19% UCD Clone 4. This wine was aged on its lees for ten months in French Oak barrels before being gently racked out of barrel using a “bulldog pup” racking device to make the final blend in preparation for bottling. The wine was bottled unfiltered to preserve its natural fruit aroma, palate concentration, and texture.

Wine Facts
Harvest Dates: October 9 ~ October 13, 2006
Growing region: Los Carneros, Napa Valley
Cases Released: 1544 cases
Bottling Date: August 1 st , 2007

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