The wine style is based on the French Chablis model in that the wine is primarily tank fermented to retain acidity which develops a high fruit, leaner style wine that relies solely on the quality of the fruit character rather than the quality of the barrels. 

Blend: 100% Chardonnay
Production: 1,093 cases

2009 was an ideal vintage for chardonnay as long as you picked before the Japanese typhoon that hit October 13th. We picked the Dutton Ranch Mill Station fruit on October 6th and Balletto Vineyards on October 10th at perfect ripeness. Full intense flavor, bright crisp natural acidity highlight this wonderful vintage.

Our Mossback chardonnay is grown in the heart of Russian River Valley AVA at Dutton Mill Station and Balletto Occidental Ranch. Deciding when to pick is the most critical decision to make in this cool region. Patience is the key because some years the fruit does not fully mature until November and we have to constantly worry about rain and frost. When Mother Nature cooperates we get some the most intensely flavored wine around. We cold ferment 80% of this wine to preserve and enhance that crisp fruity character and barrel ferment the remainder to add subtle oak and vanilla richness. We also blend a small amount of our Dunnigan Hills chardonnay to increase complexity and add tropical notes.