Thomas Fogarty
Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay

100% Chardonnay

Vineyards

The 2014 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay is entirely from our vineyards: both the Winery Estate and the more southerly property, Gist Ranch. The Winery Estate provides the base of the blend and defines its bright, cool-climate character – think citrus and mineral elements. The warmer Gist Ranch provides some depth of fruit and weight.

Vintage

2014 was the second consecutive drought vintage and featured the earliest harvesting in a 30+ year history. Early bud-break and flowering combined with relatively warm weather throughout the growing season led to rapid development of sugar and flavor in many vineyards. Consequently we had tremendous ripeness at low sugars which produced wines with bright acidity and ample structure.

Tasting Notes

Estate Chardonnay is all about bright citrus fruit and mineral flavors that define the cool, maritime, mountainous site. Hallmarks of Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay from the northern end of the appellation, where our vineyards lie, are focused citrus fruit, white flowers and great concentration. The ’14 vintage has great depth of flavor, balancing acidity and underlying minerality; this is serious site driven Chardonnay

Technical Data

Winegrower: Nathan Kandler

Vineyards: 89% Winery Estate (64% Langley Hill, 18% Damiana, 4% Portola Springs, 3% Albutom) and 11% Gist Ranch Estate

Alcohol: 13.7%

pH: 3.43