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2004 CHARDONNAY CLOS PEPE
Santa Rita Hills

Each year I've been enthusiastic about the chardonnay we make from this vineyard. It seems as though the combination of soil type, clone and climate at Clos Pepe are a winning combination. And what is even more exciting is how these wines have aged. The 1999 was our first vintage and it is still going strong and becoming increasingly interesting.

In 2004 we continue our trend to emphasize the distinctiveness of this Santa Rita Hills vineyard by using light-handed winemaking techniques. This wine continues to be all barrel fermented and aged, but we now use almost exclusively older barrels that do not impart much oak flavor to the wine. The result is a fresher, livelier, more food-friendly wine. I know I've been saying the same thing every year now, but the 2004 is truly our most successful effort to date with Clos Pepe chardonnay.