Very special Chardonnay from a winery that really knows how to make it. There's a lovely bouquet of zesty sweet lemons, hazelnuts, floral and spice notes, and an elegant touch of French oak. On the palate, it shows layers of complex yet focused flavors of citrus (sweet lemons again) and minerals, beautifully balanced acidity, and a long, smoothly sweet finish. Again, the oak flavors and tannins are quite minimal, especially when compared to the norm for this variety. This Chardonnay will pair beautifully with poached salmon, lobster, smoked meats and cheeses, and spicy dishes.
Detailed Info, Previous Vintage Notes, Reviews:
From the winery:
As the winemakers of the Oregon wine renaissance re-established vinifera grapes in the 1960's and 1970's, the wine regions of Northern Europe (especially Burgundy and Alsace) provided their models. However, the only legal place to get grapevines was California. When it came to Chardonnay, the choices were three late-ripening selections - Draper, Wente, and 108 - all selected for warmer climates than Oregon's. Though some fine wines were produced, autumn rainstorms frequently arrived before these selections were fully ripe.
While working in Burgundy in 1974, David Adelsheim saw that Chardonnay there ripened at the same time as Pinot noir, not two-to-three weeks later as in Oregon. So, at his (and others') urging, Oregon State University imported a number of Chardonnay clones from Burgundy during the years 1977 to 1988 and, starting in 1989, these "Dijon" clones were released to growers. Today, the resulting wines have entirely different flavors than those of the old California selections; they are, in fact, much more like those of white Burgundy.
VINEYARDS The 2004 Caitlin's Reserve comes from Stoller Vineyard in the Dundee Hills (Clone 76). This vineyard is planted to the early-ripening "Dijon" clones and lies on basaltic soil. It's worthy to note that this site is volcanic in origin, meaning that the soil is deep and well drained, though with some water-holding capability provided by their clay content. By use of irrigation and/or careful clean cultivation, the vineyard is managed to avoid drought-stress, and thus insure fruit intensity while avoiding excess tannins.
WINEMAKING To produce this wine, we used the same 'barrel-centric' winemaking that has always been employed by the top Burgundy producers. Following a gentle, whole-cluster pressing to separate the juice from the skins as quickly as possible, the juice was transferred to small French oak barrels, of which 30% were new, medium-toast, Vosges- and Allierorigin wood. After undergoing primary and malolactic fermentations, the lees of the wines were stirred every two weeks to add complexity. Sur lie aging for 10 months allowed the Chardonnay and oak flavors to meld, and for the oak tannins to elongate, thereby softening and rounding the wine. After being racked from barrel, the wine was bottled in August of 2005.
