2008 Greg La Follette - Lorenzo Vineyard - La Follette Chardonnay
Price: $38.00
La Follette Wines is a partnership between winemaker Greg La Follette of Tandem and Pete and Terri Kight of Quivira Vineyards & Winery in Dry Creek Valley. This Sonoma County winery crafts wines that offer benchmark expression of vineyard site and appellation. The focus is on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from cool climate vineyards in Sonoma (DuNah, van der Kamp and Sangiacomo) and Mendocino (Manchester Ridge). After studying ancient Burgundian techniques at UC Davis, Greg La Follette has had a remarkable winemaking career. His unparalleled understanding of yeast - specifically, how different yeasts affect the mouth feel and flavors of the finished wine - is a defining aspect of his winemaking talent. It was at Davis that he became fascinated with the scientific components of mouth feel. Greg worked at Beaulieu Vineyard as research viticulturist/enologist with wine master, Andre Tchelistcheff. From BV, he went to work at Kendall-Jackson and later turned his talents to Flowers Vineyard & Winery where he was the winemaker and general manager, launching one of the most successful small Pinot labels to date. In 2001 he founded Tandem Wines to produce small lot Russian River Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. He has also consulted on vineyard and winery projects around the world, including the new UC Davis teaching winery. The label illustration was found in a rare first edition French manual on viticulture published in 1847. The tool in the winegrower's hand was changed into a more whimsical magic wand to communicate the mystical, almost alchemic relationship between winemaker and the vines. The bouquet is an olfactory feast of ginger, wet-stone, green pear and lemon curd. The entry, marked by fresh acidity, leads to a silky palate of well-integrated tannins and firm minerality. While this bottling has a stronger malolactic signature than our other Chardonnays, it also has the lowest pH in the cellar, providing the mouthwatering acids that balance this wine and make for excellent food pairings. Situated on the Santa Rosa plain, in the cradle of the Russian River Valley, the extraordinary Lorenzo Vineyard was planted in 1974 by John Bazzano and named for his Italian grandfather. This 10-acre site enjoys the cooling fog of the mornings and evenings during the growing season. Our Lorenzo Chardonnay is a true expression of old vine Chardonnay, in all its depth and complexity; our most California-style Chardonnay. |
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