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Red Car

2018 Estate Chardonnay Fort Ross-Seaview AVA Sonoma County CA
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Appearance pale straw
Aromas lime, green apple, honeycomb, seashells
Palate tart apple, salted caramel, vibrant acidity, long lingering finish
Food Pairing Suggestions
Pair this cool climate Chardonnay with silky textures, such as risotto, pastas and creamy soups. Try it with baked meaty fish such as cod or seafood including shrimp and scallops. Simply seasoned pork and poultry dishes will also match beautifully.
Composition

100% Chardonnay, Old Wente Clone

Region

Fort Ross-Seaview, Sonoma County, CA


Production
195 cases
Alcohol
13.6%
Aging Potential
This wine will age gracefully through 2032
Accolades

94 points – Wine Enthusiast

93 points – Wine & Spirits

93 points – Jeb Dunnuck

92 points – Vinous


Vineyard
Red Car Estate Vineyard
About The Vineyard

The continued success of the Chardonnay vines on this property translate to the huge demand for this elegant cool-climate wine.

Steady weather conditions in Fort Ross-Seaview in 2018 allowed Red Car to capture the full potential of this site by crafting a Chardonnay that displays bright and racy acidity, expressive floral aromatics, and elegant citrus fruit.


The Estate Chardonnay was harvested from vines planted in fractured marine sandstone, weathered over millions of years from an uplifted seabed known as the Ohlson Ranch Formation. This soil offers the same viticultural advantages as the often referenced Goldridge series found in the lower West Sonoma Coast elevations around Sebastopol, yet differs by including less clay and more stone than sand in its composition.


The estate vineyard is planted to an Old Wente clone that was selected over the course of decades by Larry Hyde specifically for the small size of its clusters and mineral flavor profile. These differences are revealed in this distinctly unique and terroir-driven Chardonnay.


Winemaker Notes

Aged 10 month in 13% New, 87% Neutral Oak


Red Car Estate Chardonnay


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Winemaker

Tanner Scheer

Winemaker Tanner Scheer Red Car Wine

Winemaking at Red Car is led by Tanner Scheer. Tanner spent six years at Ampelos Cellars, learning on the job and eventually working his way up to Assistant Winemaker in 2011. Leaving in 2013, he joined mutual friends for harvest at Dragonette Winery in Buellton, CA before accepting a position at Liquid Farm. But Chardonnay was calling him. “Chardonnay is one of my favorite varietals and I was looking for a place that could produce Chardonnay of true character, not manipulated in any way. That boils down to soil and climate.” Tanner interviewed with Red Car in June 2015 and joined the team two weeks later.

At Red Car, Tanner adheres to simple but strict principles. “I believe in minimalism,” he explains. “Don’t manipulate the fruit in the winery. It’s up to the vineyards, the climate, the soil and the farming practices we choose to employ. What’s important for me at a fundamental level is to represent each varietal in its truest form. That’s a foundation of any of our wines.” The Red Car team is a close-knit family and Tanner especially values the camaraderie and teamwork. “We are all connected to these vineyard sites and these wines. We’ve all bought into what we are doing here, so it becomes a symbiotic relationship. The wines represent us and we represent the wines,” he says. “We rely and count on one another to come through with the parts that are on each of our plates so we can come together with a common purpose and shared vision of where we are going.”

Tanner credits his father with instilling in him how important it is to love what you do. “I’ve never seen another human who just jumped out of bed every day—2:30 in the morning even! That love and passion he has for cowboying, for me it metamorphosed to the wine industry. That type of energy, that approach to life and work. I also learned from him the importance of loyalty, respect and being accountable.” Tanner Scheer lives in Petaluma, CA with his dog, Button. Describing himself as “an avid, avid lifelong fisherman,” if Tanner isn’t working, he’s fly fishing or catching bass from his kayak.

Button Red Car Winery Dog

 

 

 

About the Winery
Red Car
For nearly 20 years, Red Car has been on a journey—one that started in sunny Los Angeles and marched steadily northward toward a vision of cooler vineyard sites and the complex, aromatic wines they can express. Known for their limited production, hand-crafted Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah.
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