2023 Mayacamas Chardonnay

Aromas of Anjou pear, Golden Delicious apple, and candied lemon peel integrate with savory notes of chamomile, yuzu, and a distinct flinty minerality. The palate is medium-bodied and exceptionally linear, featuring a core of citrus fruit and a mouthwatering, mouth-coating texture. It displays a racy, vibrant acidity that leads to a long finish marked by a clean saline snap and a lingering herbaceous lift of lemon balm.

Winemaker Braiden Albrecht utilizes fruit that is 95% whole-cluster pressed for gentle extraction and freshness. The juice is barrel-fermented with native yeasts in a diverse mix of cooperage, including 228L barriques and larger 500L to 1000L foudres. Malolactic fermentation is strictly prohibited, and the wine is aged sur-lie without battonage for roughly ten months. This traditional approach preserves the wine's intense mountain energy and prevents it from becoming overly creamy or oak-driven.

The fruit is grown on the historic Mayacamas Estate near the summit of Mount Veeder. The site is defined by its extreme elevation, ranging from 1,800 to 2,400 feet, and its rugged, well-draining volcanic soils. The vineyards sit above the fog line, benefiting from intense mountain sunlight and cool breezes, which results in low yields of small, concentrated berries. This unique high-altitude terroir provides the wine with its signature structural tension and deep, mineral-flecked complexity.