Martinelli Road Chardonnay 2018

The Martinelli Road Chardonnay Vineyard is one of our coolest vineyard sites in the Russian River Valley and is consistently one of the last vineyards to be picked. A large portion of the vineyard remains shaded for most of the day by a ridge of old redwood trees. Lee Martinelli Sr. planted this vineyard in 1989 using clone 95, and the vineyard borders the Jackass Zinfandel vineyard on the original Martinelli family homestead ranch.

The 2018 season was much calmer than 2017, due to the absence of extra rain and heat spikes we experienced in 2017. The moderate temperatures in the spring and summer allowed for a longer growing season and full flavor development. There was plenty of water in the soil to carry the clusters through the long growing season with minimal dehydration. Our first day of harvest in 2018 was on September 10, compared with an August 26 start in 2017. It was nice that the production crew could enjoy the Labor Day holiday right before the long hours and hard work of harvest began.

SPECIFICATIONS

APPELLATION

Russian River Valley

VARIETALS PLANTED

Chardonnay

SOIL INFORMATION

Franciscan and Goldridge

SOIL CHARACTERISTICS

Clay, loam fractured rock

ROOTSTOCK

110R

CLONAL SELECTION

95 Wente

YEAR ACQUIRED

1880

Aromas of fresh pineapple, pear and fresh hazelnuts are present in the lifted nose. Silky upon entry, the palate contains long layers of flavors including tropical fruits and jasmine