cropthreash


Handmade wines since 1983.

 

 

1998 CHARDONNAY RESERVE
Talley-Rincon Vineyard
Arroyo Grande Valley
 
We always get our Talley fruit from block 10 in Rincon vineyard, and in 1998 that spot did excep-tionally well. The large rainfall it received during the winter of 97-98 made these struggling hillside vines happier than usual. The crop was small, the vigor of the vines moderate, the last few weeks of fruit maturation went along at a leisurely pace. We chose the latest and ripest of three picks from the vineyard to be our reserve. The fruit was whole cluster pressed to French oak barrels where it fermented for over a year before finishing its secondary malo-lactic fermentation. This, of course, drove me nuts with worry and challenged my patience dearly, but I waited it out. It aged without any interference at all until bottling in January of this year. We neither fined nor filtered this wine, and so nothing was lost as it went into the bottle. If you are looking for a subtle, Burgundian chardonnay, this is not the wine for you! This chardon-nay is a huge flamboyant thing; lush and soft, it's absolutely packed with flavor. Typical Talley aromas of pear and lemon are followed by flavors of rich fruit with cinnamon and butter. This is an amazing wine that lingers and lingers on the palate. If bigger is better, this is the best!