Belle Pente Chardonnay 07
Belle Pente Chardonnay 07 - An Avalon favorite, Brian O'Donnell balances ripe fruit flavors of pear, apple, and white peach with a brilliant crisp minerality and lilting freshness.
MORE INFORMATION
Previous Vintage Tasting Notes
2006 Vintage Tasting Notes
Vintage 2006 was very good to our 2 acre estate Chardonnay vineyard. It produced very good ripeness, which translated into a rich, concentrated wine. But there is a fine line in Chardonnay between ripe enough and too ripe, which can make the wines flabby and seemingly sweet. So our standard procedure is to pick the vineyard in two parts, usually 10-14 days apart. The early harvest provides freshness and acidity, and the later one brings richness and viscosity. Barrel fermentation with very modest use of new oak lets the strengths of both pickings show through. If you've shopped for high end California Chardonnay or good white Burgundy lately, you will quickly realize that this wine is a good value at twice the price! Enjoy now or cellar for a few years. - the winery
