2006 Hawk Hill Vineyard Chardonnay
Winemaker's Notes
Lemon blossoms, Bosc pears, apricots and wet stone aromas dominate your senses. This wine has very concentrated flavors of peaches, Meyer lemons, pineapple, lilac and crème brûlée. A silky texture and moderate acidity give the wine a long, lingering lemon-drop finish. This wine would be great with freshly caught and grilled rainbow trout.
—Winemaker Bob Cabral
The Vineyard
Hawk Hill Vineyard is located in the southwestern-most corner of the Russian River appellation, on a high point between cool Bodega Bay and slightly warmer Sebastopol. This area is known for prevailing ocean breezes. These breezes warm the land during the winter, bring early bud break and cool the land in the summer, giving extra hang time. This extended hang time produces fruit with high acid levels, and gives great structure and balance to the wine.
Harvest 2006
The 2006 grape growing season was characterized by weather extremes. The unusually cool and wet weather of the early spring caused a late start to the 2006 Harvest. Challenged by the prolonged and excessive July heat spikes followed by more moisture, the vines required attentive care. Cool coastal weather returned in August, mitigating the effect of the hot summer and permitting a long hang time for optimal fruit maturity and a controlled pace for ideal picking. Grape clusters were unusually large, resulting in a generous crop load.
Winemaking for the vintage was focused on meticulous fruit sorting and concentrating flavors, resulting in wines of fullness and length. Our Pinot noirs across growing regions have fruitiness of intensity and purity; our Russian River Zinfandels are ripe and typically powerful; our Russian River Chardonnays are particularly aromatic and finely structured.
Technical Notes
| Barrel Description: | 28% new, 9% 1-year-old, 36% 2-year-old, 27% 3+ year-old |
|---|---|
| Barrel Aged: | 13 months |
| pH: | 3.51 |
| TA: | 0.62g/100ml |
| Alc.: | 14.8% |
| Release Date: | Spring 2008 |
| Release Price: | $50 |