2008 ElvenGlade Chardonnay ($45.00 each)

TASTING NOTE

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TECHNICAL INFORMATION

VINEYARDS

FERMENTATION AND AGING

TASTING NOTES
This is the inaugural release of Soléna Estate Chardonnay. A bright and fragrant nose of creamy lemon, white guava, hibiscus flower are complimented by subtle aromas of toast. Lovely flinty mineral flavors lead into a crisp palate of lemon verbena, ripe pear, hazelnuts and spice. Balanced acidity in the wine deliver a long and fresh finish.

THE VINTAGE
The 2008 vintage is becoming a new benchmark vintage for Oregon, following in the foot steps of the great 1999 vintage which was mostly characterized by a very long, beautiful Indian summer. The 2008 season started almost a month behind normal bud break times and the unfortunate rainy episodes during the fruit set caused a smaller crop load than usual. The overall growing season was cooler than average and resulted in late maturing of the fruit; we saw some veraison only occurring in the month of September. Fortunately for us the rain did not come in the month of September and October. Having started a month behind, we all felt that we had “dodged the bullet,” and did not realize we were about to create wines that will be part of our wine history.

THE VINEYARD
The fruit for this exceptional and very limited release (only 45 cases) comes from ElvenGlade Vineyard, a small parcel remarkable for its superior cool climate fruit. ElvenGlade is deeply rooted in Willakenzie and Laurelwood soils within the rolling hills of the Yamhill-Carlton District. The Dijon Clones 76 and 96 yield small clusters and berries retaining excellent structure, acidity and bouquet while producing concentrated and elegant fruit. The vineyard was planted in 1986 at an elevation ranging from 250 feet to 600 feet.

VINIFICATION
All grapes were hand-picked and hand-sorted to ensure the highest quality fruit. Whole cluster pressing took place in order to capture the essence and freshness of the fruit and gravity flow techniques were used throughout the winemaking process. Primary fermentation was slow and steady, occuring in barrel over a time
period of several months. This induced a natural “on-the-lees” effect typical with what is known as battonage, the process of stirring wine while they remain in their barrels on their yeast lees, making the mouthfeel much more complex and round on the mid-palate. 100% malolactic fermentation occurred over a 2 month period. The wine was aged for 16 months in two French oak barrels, one of which was new.