2021 Chardonnay

The impact of the October 2020 freeze, and the subsequent decimation of the Colorado wine grape crop, is becoming evident in the wines we have available. Our Chardonnay vines were frozen to the ground and, while we were able to re-train them back up on the trellis, there was no 2021 crop. To match our high elevation and mountain climate as closely as possible, we source grapes from eastern Washington.

We receive 275 gallons of refrigerated Chardonnay juice on October 16 and immediately transfer to barrels, each 2/3 full. At 22 Brix and good acidity and pH numbers, we inoculate and attach the airlocks. By October 20, all barrels have active fermentation and we add the malolactic inoculation. Fermentation completes in early November and the barrels are consolidated and topped up. The occasional stirring of the lees during the winter’s aging reduces the buttery component of the wine and adds a creaminess and nuttiness to the palate. In late August of 2022 we transfer to tank and prepare the wine for bottling.