Indigo Hills Chardonnay 2001
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The grapes for our Chardonnay were whole-cluster pressed to ensure that the grapes are gently squeezed and to allow the natural fruit character to shine through. The whole-cluster press eliminates the bitterness that typically results from crusher-destemmer, giving the wine a more elegant mouthfeel. During fermentation, temperature was monitored not to exceed 65° F to produce a slower, cooler fermentation that enhanced complexities of body, flavor, and aroma. Following fermentation, approximately 44% of the wine was transferred to mostly American oak barrels for an average of 4.7 months to soften the blend and add subtle oak influences. To achieve color clarity while preserving intensity and complexity, the wine was gently fined and pad filtered prior to bottling.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.