Winemaker Notes
Toasted Head Chardonnay is 100% Estate Bottled, and it is skillfully crafted from our most succulent grapes, carefully selected from our very finest Dunnigan Hills Chardonnay vineyards. It is 100% Barrel Fermented and sur lie aged in a combination of our best French and American oak barrels where it is gently hand stirred for the first five months of its aging process. It is meticulously cared for with the same tender devotion that a mother gives her newborn while Toasted Head Chardonnays golden flavors develop and meld into a mouthwatering, luxurious maturity.
Toasted Head Chardonnay is rich and complex, showing great harmony and integration of fruit and oak. The ripe tropical fruit character of the wine marries well with the butterscotch, vanilla and slight spiciness that comes from barrel fermentation. It is one of the most popular Chardonnays in America today, gracing the tables of many of the finest homes and restaurants in the country. We are proud to introduce to you a Chardonnay worthy of any millennium, 1999 Toasted Head Chardonnay. -Bob Barker, R.H. Phillips Wine Company
California’s most praised white wine, Chardonnay is also the state’s most planted white grape variety. Diverse terrain and microclimates allow for an incredible range of wine styles.
Chardonnay planted in the cooler, coastal zones takes on bright characteristics like lemon zest, key lime, green apple and wet flint. For this style, look to the chilly Sonoma Coast, Carneros, Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Lucia Highlands and Edna Valley.
The inland zones of California’s coast, such as the Russian River, Sonoma, Napa and Livermore Valleys maintain a more Goldilocks-esque climate where both styles go. Early picking retains acidity and creates a leaner style but leaving the grapes to hang creates an approachable Chardonnay, balancing richness and finesse.
Chardonnay also plays a major part in the sparkling wine production of the Anderson Valley and Carneros.