2012 Stonestreet Chardonnay Upper Barn Alexander Valley

The Upper Barn is our most transporting Chardonnay, and the 2012 vintage is no exception. Stargazer lily, peach and a quiet spice note flood the nose, while the palate mirrors those qualities alongside a savory underpinning. The texture is filigreed, exhibiting that delicacy of fruit and a quartz-like transparency that only age and a superb site can bring to a wine. 

Overview

American Viticultural Area (AVA): Alexander Valley, Sonoma County

Mountain Range: Mayacamas Mountains

Region: California’s North Coast

Predominant Geology: Sobrante Loam

Elevation: 1,800 feet

Vineyard Location: 76 miles north of San Francisco, 23 miles east of the Paci¬fic Ocean, 6 miles north of Healdsburg

Winemaker: Graham Weerts and Lisa Valtenbergs

Vineyard Manager: Gabriel Valencia

Key Blocks: 48A and 48B

Vine Spacing: 12 x 8 feet

Exposure of Slopes: Multiple

Year Planted: 1982

Rootstock: AXR

Clone: Hyde Wente

Winemaking Data

Fermentation: 100% barrel fermented with native yeast, malolactic 

Barrel Aging: 10 months French oak, 50% new

Date of Bottling: August 2013

Quantities Bottled: 686 cases

Alcohol: 14.5%

TA: 0.55 h/100mL

pH: 3.5

97 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate One of my favorites is the 2012 Chardonnay Upper Barn, which boasts remarkable intensity as well as lots of tropical fruit, a stony-like minerality, and a full-bodied, layered mouthfeel. This is a multi-dimensional, profound Chardonnay (as it often was when made by Helen Turley) from a vineyard planted with an Old Wente clone as well as the Hyde clone of Chardonnay. It should drink well for 5-6 years. Stonestreet’s wines continue to go from strength to strength under the direction of South African winemaker Graham Weerts. The Chardonnays are spectacular... All five Chardonnays are brilliant, 100% Chardonnays fermented with indigenous yeasts in the barrel and aged ten months in anywhere from 45% to 100% new French oak. The results are stunning. The wines are all more similar than dissimilar, but I will try to articulate their minor differences. (RP) (12/2013)