Chardonnay Steele Cuvee 2009
|
Our flagship white wine, California Cuvee Chardonnay, really shows off Jed Steele’s wizardry in blending. As with all great wines, the process begins with the selection of the right vineyards. We have worked with most of the great Chardonnay vineyards in California and have chosen these seven prestigious properties to obtain the grapes for this wine.
Vineyards
Beginning in the south, the area around the Santa Maria Valley has a maritime climate with lots of morning fog in the summer and cool evenings. We get grapes from Bien Nacido Vineyards, located on the benches above the Sisquoc River and from the Goodchild Vineyard about a mile away across the river.
Farther north we source grapes from the Carneros region, in the southern part of Sonoma County that borders the San Francisco/San Pablo Bay. Cool winds and morning fog are artifacts of the weather pattern in Carneros, making the region perfect for Chardonnay. The Sangiacomo Family farms 1000 acres of vineyards here. We source grapes from their Katerina and El Novillero ranches. The meticulously farmed vineyards of Durell and Parmelee-Hill are slightly further inland and tend to ripen sooner than Sangiacomo.
Again moving north, we arrive in Mendocino County, home to both the warmest vineyard site and the coolest vineyard site in the blend. The Lolonis Family has been farming in Redwood Valley since the 1920’s, farming organically since the 1950’s. To the west lies the DuPratt Vineyard, located above Anderson Valley in the Mendocino Ridge appellation.
Winemaking
Fermentation takes place in French oak barrels of which 20% are new. The wine remains in barrel for eight months, the lees are stirred regularly, and the wine can finish malolactic fermentation. Each vintage, two to three of the vineyards we source from produce such remarkable wine. This cream of the crop is extremely limited; generally around 300 6-packs. We then conduct blending trials to arrive at the best blend for the Steele Cuvee Chardonnay. Any excess wine that doesn’t fit into either of these two categories becomes our Shooting Star Chardonnay. Due to the popularity of our Cuvee we release this wine in both full and half bottles.
Tasting Notes
The Cuvee consistently exhibits excellent depth of flavor, wonderful acidity and complex aromas. The Santa Maria vineyards add a tropical fruit character to the wine, flavors and aroma of mango, pineapple, and papaya. The Sonoma vineyards attribute citrus character and acid to the cuvee. The Mendocino vineyards flavor profile leans toward citrus fruit and minerality from DuPratt and Lolonis contributes the warmest-climate grapes to the cuvee with flavors and aromas of baked apples and cinnamon.
Food Pairing Halibut with a white wine burre blanc sauce would compliment the complex flavors of the Cuveé Chardonnay any day.
Awards
Santé Magazine 2010, excellent by the glass choice 2007 vintage. Fred McMillian Cuveé Chardonnay 1st place California vs. the World competition 2008 Vintage. Gold medal, Beaufort NC Food and Wine Festival. Silver medal San Francisco International Wine competition. Gold medal Orange County Fair wine competition. Gold medal Grand Harvest competition. Silver medal West Coast Wine competition.
|