2012 Iron Horse UnOaked Chardonnay 750ml 3-Pack

The 2012 UnOaked Chardonnay is a pure expression of cool, foggy Green Valley. The wine is remarkably rich and elegant. This is our eighth vintage of making UnOaked, but the first using the ‘native’ Green Valley Rued Clone Chardonnay blended with Clone 4 Chardonnay - all from the estate. With their bright acidity, UnOaked Chardonnays are worth holding onto as they age so beautifully.

By nose, a complex blend of stone fruit, green pear and pineapple. By mouth, balanced acidity, grapefruit, Gravenstein apple and minerality. Pairs beautifully with salmon tartar, bacon wrapped scallops, proscuitto, whole wheat pasta and caper pesto. This is a great vegetable wine, especially with heirloom tomatoes.

Artisanal Winemaking: All of our Chardonnay is handled one lot at a time. Only as the grapes arrive at the winery do we decide how to treat them. Sometimes it is straight to the press as whole clusters, while other times a cold soak might be necessary. All of the UnOaked Chardonnay had at least one hour of skin contact in the press to control acidity, to avoid fruit-reducing malolactic fermentation, and to extract bright aromatic and flavor compounds. We then follow with a cold stainless steel fermentation (between 60f and 63f) to retain esters, i.e., brightness, minerality and exotic fruit elements.