Hartford Court Stone Cote Vineyard Chardonnay

DESCRIPTION

This single-vineyard bottling offers restrained minerality and aromas of poached pears and nectarines. The Stone Côte has great balance with white peach and nutmeg flavors that complement its silky texture and long finish of minerals and graphite. Vineyard Character The Stone Côte Vineyard is a small vineyard block within the well-known Durell vineyard, which sits upon an ancient riverbed at the base of Sonoma Mountain in the cool Sonoma Coast AVA. For centuries this ancient river cut a path into volcanic and sedimentary rock on its way to the Pacific Ocean. The vineyard’s topography has been shaped by that flow. Tumbled and water-worn cobblestones now litter the landscape and very little topsoil remains. The nutritionally challenged soils push the vines to search deeply for nutrients and water, forcing the vineyard to work hard to ripen its fruit. The stressed vines, in turn yield very small clusters with intense varietal flavors. Climatically this vineyard site is characterized by cool daytime temperatures, high winds and cold ocean breezes. The low-fertility soils and the cool temperatures unite to form an ideal site for growing Chardonnay. The wine’s flinty aromas and mineral-laden finish are a reflection of this vineyard’s terroir.