Shafer - Red Shoulder - Chardonnay 2016 | Monsieur Touton Selection

Tasting notes

"The 2013 fills your glass with citrus-flower aromas and flavors of apricot, red and green apple, honeysuckle, kiwi, pineapple, Meyer Lemon zest, and vanilla – a luscious, juicy basket of summer fruit held together with just the right touch of minerality and lively acidity.”

Harvest

Shafer's single-vineyard Carneros-grown Chardonnay is produced from small-clustered clones of grapesselected for their low yields and distinctiveflavors. Fermentation takes place within individual oak and stainlesssteel barrels using native yeasts. The wine matures on theleesfor 14 months and sinceit undergoes no malolacticfermentation this Chardonnay retains a lively natural acidity. The vineyard is named for its Red-shouldered Hawks and other birds of prey, who play an important rolein Shafer’s natural farming practices.

Barrels

14 months in 75% new French oak barrels (Allier, Vosage) and 25% in stainless steel barrels

Vinification

Whole-cluster pressed and fermented with wild yeast in individual barrels (75% oak, 25% stainless steel); 0% malolactic fermentation

Vintage

This was an ideal vintage that served up nothing but warm, sun-soaked days and perfect, chilly nights from spring through early autumn. The consistency of heat and coolness created a pictureperfect growing season in which we harvested fruit at delicious ripeness bursting with rich color and flavor.

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