Russian River Selection Chardonnay 2020

The Russian River Selection bottlings are quintessential Russian River Valley wines blended from some of the winery’s top vineyard sources. They are beautiful expressions of their varietal type and of the appellation’s unique terroir, each blend capturing the richness, purity and elegance that are Gary Farrell Winery’s trademarks. This layered and complex Chardonnay brings together fruit from several of our favorite Russian River Valley vineyard sites. Anchored by the naturally balanced character of Westside Farms and intriguing floral and stone fruit notes from Bacigalupi Vineyard, the wine’s great concentration and structure derive from the nearby Rochioli and Allen vineyards. Olivet Lane Vineyard, featuring the Wente clone, adds refreshing citrus tones and excellent acidity.

The grapes were harvested in the cool morning hours at ~21-23° Brix. A quick pass was made through our rows a few days prior to harvest in order to drop fruit that didn’t express the optimal flavor concentration. As anticipated, the grapes that were delivered to the winery were packed with delicious, vibrant, varietally expressive characteristics. After a very careful hand-sorting, all the fruit was combined in the press, and used a gentle program to extract only the most desirable solids and phenolics. The resulting juice was left in tank to cold-settle overnight before transferring to 30% new and 70% one to three-year-old neutral French oak barrels and puncheons for fermentation and aging, where it remained for 9 months on its primary lees until it was time to bottle in June. The wines were racked off the primary lees only once, just before bottling.

The growing season began with one of the driest winters in memory, and certainly the driest February in recorded history. The dry weather continued through the spring months and even into summer, leaving the vines with very little soil moisture to maintain a healthy canopy. Water stress can actually create beautifully concentrated wines, and that’s precisely what we’re observing. Budbreak and flowering began a couple of weeks ahead of the previous season, indicating an early onset of harvest. The summer weather was relatively mild, with very few heat spikes, so the vines soaked up the sun, producing a beautifully balanced crop with small to moderately sized clusters. Moving into late summer, veraison was early, but the weather and the crop were looking pretty close to ideal.

This is a beautiful, polished, vibrant blend of some truly amazing vineyards. It is incredibly aromatic, exuding aromas of Asian pear, Fuji apple, white peach and honeysuckle, with a hint of flintiness and barrel spice. Medium bodied and super silky, the flavors open with fresh lemon, white peach, Chamomile, candied ginger and a trace of Marcona almond. Bright, lively acidity, spicy skin tannins and leesy goodness create an elegantly textured wine with a delightfully persistent finish.