Description

To make his Chardonnay, Pete Seghesio draws parcels of fruit from a handful of vineyards in Sonoma, including the ‘Grand Cru’ Ritchie vineyard in Russian River Valley. Each vineyard is planted with different clones, something which gives the wine great complexity. Grapes are picked in the cool of night, between 3am and 6am. The wine is made at the winery Pete and his wife, Cathy, have built below their house on the San Lorenzo vineyard, which is where his great-grandfather began making wine in 1896. About 30% of the wine is fermented in concrete eggs, something which Pete feels enhances the creaminess of the wine, while the remainder is fermented in French oak (of which 50% is new). After the wine is aged in barrel for 12 months, the finished blend is kept in stainless-steel tank for 3 months before it is bottled unfined and unfiltered. It is an exciting Chardonnay with lovely richness, definition and length.