Spring Release Wester Reach Chardonnay
2017

Winemaker’s Notes

The 2017 Wester Reach Chardonnay combines three singular traits: coastal freshness and vibrancy; Russian River Valley natural richness, density and texture; and subtle elements of Burgundian savory/saline reduction. In essence, a blend of three of our single vineyard Chardonnays, it is a wine that drinks at an equivalent quality level to our lower production wines. 

From the lowest-yielding vintage in twenty years, there’s inherent concentration here, a depth of flavor coming from the vines themselves rather than winemaking artifice. But there’s also a firmness and seriousness that offsets this mid-palate weight and extends its citrus-oil-infused finish. 

The wine has great lines: focused, driven, mineral-laden and pithy, with a level of cool-climate fruit intensity that is very rare. This level of quality and distinctive character is hard to achieve in a larger-production blended wine, but is a testament to our pedigreed vineyards, precise farming, twenty years’ experience, and patient, sensitive craftsmanship.

Drink between 2019 and 2027.

Andy Smith Viticulturist, Winemaker & Partner