Melville - Chardonnay Santa Rita Hills 2023

Winemaker's description: "This wine is 100% from our Sta. Rita Hills estate and is a combination of clones 4, 76, 95 and 96, along with Mount Eden, Hanzell, Hudson, Wente and a special Melville selection. Our chardonnay vines were planted in 1997, predominantly on the west side of our estate where we have varying degrees of sand. The west side receives the brunt of brutally cold Pacific ocean-winds and grows in nutrient deficient, well-drained soils, resulting in chardonnay that captures the vibrancy, minerality, and concentrated flavors that are hallmarks of our appellation. Our densely planted vineyard is harvested by hand then gently whole-cluster pressed, cold settled overnight and transferred by gravity to barrel for fermentation in neutral French oak barrels (15+ years old), with zero malolactic and sur lie aging without any lees disturbance."