viognier (sonoma county)

viognier (barrel fermented)

chardonnay

pinot noir

zinfandel

petite sirah

merlot

cabernet sauvignon

late harvest zin

2005 Hawley Chardonnay

Vineyards

Sonoma county’s Russian River Valley provides the ideal climate to insure intense fruit flavors and balanced acidity in this versatile grape. In 2005 we sourced fruit from three vineyards:
49% Polkenhorn Vineyard, Willowside Road
47% Gaddis Vineyard, Piner Road
4% Rousseau Vineyard, Vine Hill Road
The 2005 growing season began with a warm, early spring. The mild summer allowed for slow and even maturity with a hot spell at the end to bring everything to ripeness. The resulting berries were unusually small and intensely flavored.
Brix at harvest 24

Winemaking

This wine was whole-cluster pressed, to minimize tannin, and fermented in 25% new French oak barrels. Barrel fermentation and sur lee aging adds a velvety mouth-feel and toasty notes. 100% malolactic fermentation softens the high natural acidity of the grapes and adds a buttery complexity

At Hawley Wines we follow traditional French winemaking techniques, including barrel fermentation and secondary malolactic fermentation. Barrel fermentation adds body and a creamy mouth feel to the wine while malolactic fermentation reduces the natural high acidity in the grape, and adds a buttery complexity. Some vintners choose to ferment their Chardonnay in stainless steel tanks, claiming that it helps preserve the natural fruit flavors of the grape, but French wine making entails taking this natural product and interacting with it making it more than the original fruit.

In 1980, founding Winemaker John Hawley set the standard for a new kind of California Chardonnay at fledgling Clos du Bois Wines, barrel-fermenting fruit in a traditional French style that was virtually unknown in California at the time. Industry mavens who didn't believe this upstart approach would be relevant missed the boat-within 5 years half of the area's Chardonnay was made using oak barrels, and by 1996, his last year at Kendall-Jackson, John supervised the production of 2.4 million cases using this method. Today he makes about 700 cases.

Technical

Appellation: Russian River Valley
Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay
Harvest Date: October 6, 2005 and September 29, 2005
Alcohol: 13.9% pH: 3.42 TA: .68 g/100ml
Bottling Date: June 8, 2006
Cases Bottled: 697
Release Date: Jan 1, 2007
Suggested Retail Price per bottle: $22.00

Tasting Notes

This 100% Chardonnay shows flavors of crisp green apples, citrus, and peach along with spicy oak notes and a buttery mouth-feel.

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CLICK HERE for a printable description of Hawley 2005 Chardonnay.

"Diggers Bend" by Dana Hawley- www.danahawley.com

Dumping Chardonnay grapes into the press

Chardonnay grapes falling into the press