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Brewer-Clifton - Sta. Rita Hills - Chardonnay 2015
Wine
Made from fruit from five different vineyards (3-D, Gnesa Machado, Acin and Hapgood), this Sta. Rita bottling aims to create a comprehensive expression of the appellation. While each lot is handled separately but in a completely uniform fashion in the winery, each contributes vastly different expressions which ultimately harmonize in the finished wine.
Estate
Brewer-Clifton winery was founded in 1996 by two friends whose dream was to produce detailed and soil-expressive wines from Burgundian varietals planted on cool-climate vineyard sites in the western end of Santa Barbara's Santa Ynez Valley. Greg Brewer's and Steve Clifton's wines were met with
immediate acclaim. Brewer-Clifton farms 5 monopole vineyards, planted exclusively to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and produces wines exclusively from these estate holdings.
Tasting notes
Aroma: Lemon, Kiwi, Orange Blossom, Sweet Basil
Flavor: Jasmine, Lime, Ginger, Mineral
Texture: Peel, Orange Zest, Fresh Sea Salt
Flavor: Jasmine, Lime, Ginger, Mineral
Texture: Peel, Orange Zest, Fresh Sea Salt
Vineyard
The primary emphasis of the predominantlysandy ten-acre 3-D vineyard is chardonnay, with equal amounts of five clones planted (4, 76, Hyde, Mount Eden and Sea Smoke Wente). Looking to secure a mirror-image sister ranch to 3-D, Greg Brewer and Steve Clifton began working with the Machado
family in the winter of 2008. Their fifteenacre parcel on their land is located adjacent to the famed Clos Pepe vineyard, and is marked by a gorgeous rolling terrain with sandy clay loam soils. The third vineyard, Gnesa, is a four-acre vineyard planted in 1996 with self-rooted Chardonnay, now farmed and managed solely by Brewer-Clifton. The Acin parcel is just over an acre of chardonnay planced in a section predominantly marked by sand. In slightly richer soil, the Hapgood vineyard is planted to the Mount Eden selection of chardonnay. The elevated clay loam content results in larger volume adn a more dense palate expression.
Vinification
Chardonnay is whole cluster pressed and decanted to neutral barrels for fermentation. Malolactic fermentation is neither promoted nor prohbited, allowing each wine to achieve balance as dictated by the vintage. Élevage takes place on the gross lees, exclusively in neutral barrels from the Sirugue cooperage in Nuits-St.-Georges, for a period of 12-18 months.
