BUY NEYERS CHARDONNAY CARNEROS DISTRICT WHITE WINE ONLINE | The Highlands Wineseller

Grapes harvested over the last week of September through the third week of October from the Sangiacomo Kiser, El Novillero and Yamakawa vineyards in Sonoma Carneros, and from the Clos Pegase Vineyard in Napa Valley Carneros; whole-cluster pressed and the juice racked without settling to a combination of new, once, and twice used French oak barrels for a completely natural sugar and malo-lactic fermentation lasting two to five months; aged in barrel seven months until bottling in July, 2007. Neither fining agents nor yeast foods or other additives were used throughout the process, and the wine was lightly filtered at the time of bottling. We're very precise about all of the steps our winemaking includes because we pride ourselves on our natural winemaking techniques. We think it's important that our customers know about them as well, as these practices do much to insure wines that are both pleasurable and stimulating. All of our Carneros District growers experienced a smaller than normal crop in 2006, and the increased intensity of the flavors and body weight of the wine is the expected result. The length of the growing season of 2006 was exaggerated as well, lasting well into mid-Autumn, almost a month longer than we experienced in 2005. This, too, increases the richness and flavor of the wines, and insures that the grapes ripen fully. The downside is the ever-present risk of botrytis, a mildew that can result in off-flavors if the grapes are not carefully sorted both in the vineyard and at the winery, an expensive but necessary undertaking. The color here is pale lemon, and the aroma is tropical with hints of clove and cinnamon. The texture is rich but soft, and the finish is smooth. History has taught us that we make our best wines in years like 2006, and this one is a huge success.