The relatively steady and cool 2018 growing season was a welcome shift back toward the traditional weather patterns that have made the Russian River Valley famous for Chardonnay and Pinot noir. The winter and early spring brought relatively normal amounts of rainfall which prepped the soils for bud break. Bloom and set unfolded with very mild weather conditions which resulted in an abundant and heathy crop on the vine. Midsummer weather was warm but not hot, and most importantly was relatively free of major heat spikes, allowing the first half of ripening to progress under ideal conditions.

Maybe most notable was the weather during the weeks leading up to harvest. We had a string of wonderfully cool weeks in August and September which allowed the final stages of ripening to occur quite gradually. When the grapes are given that extra time to ripen on the vine in the late fall in cool weather, we always see an extra layer of complexity in the wines from that vintage. 2018 is a vintage of amazing vibrancy and freshness matched with beautiful complexity.

For me, it’s absolutely a contender for my favorite vintage of the last decade. - Matt Courtney, Winemaker

The 2018 Russian River Valley Chardonnay is a blend of our four Russian River Valley Chardonnay vineyards: U.V. El Diablo Vineyard on Eastside Road, Banfield Vineyard on Martinelli Road, Ritchie Vineyard on Eastside Road, and the estate Chardonnay vineyard on our Westside Road property. The wine is made with a modest amount of new oak (~20%) to allow the terroir to take center stage. These appellation wines always offer great insight into the region as a whole for a given vintage. In 2018, notes of Asian pear, Meyer lemon, ginger, lemongrass, slate, dried white flowers and spun sugar are prominent on the nose. On the palate, the wine has a lemon inflected steeliness paired with mouth-watering acidity giving it exceptional liveliness and balance.