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White Rock Vineyards

2018 Chardonnay
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A very fruitful and floral vintage with notes of tropical grapefruit and melon, hints of honey, white tea and wet slate aromas and a silky finish.

–Tasting Notes by White Rock Vineyards
Appearance pale gold
Aromas granny smith apple, caramel, wet stone, citrus blossom
Palate melon, grapefruit, beeswax, lively acidity, lingering finish
Food Pairing Suggestions
Pair this Chardonnay with grilled prawns, Sea bass, or Roast quail.
Composition

100% Chardonnay, 10% old vine

Region

Napa Valley, CA


Production
566 cases
Alcohol
14.10%
Aging Potential
8-12 years
Vineyard
Estate grown, produced and bottled at White Rock Vineyards
About The Vineyard

Naturally farmed since its inception, White Rock Vineyards uses time proven techniques of nutrient rich compost, cover crops and hand cultivation to ensure the highest quality fruit, soil health and a diverse and balanced ecosystem for all who work, live and play among the vines.


 


Located between Napa Valley’s Stags Leap and Atlas Peak appellations, White Rock farms a bowl of volcanic bedrock shaped over a millenia. A unique site providing ideal valley floor Chardonnay terroir, as well as diverse hillside elevations and exposures for Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec.


 


The white volcanic ash soils produce small berries that make wines of great concentration and complexity.


 


With over 40 years of dutiful cultivation by the Vandendriessche family, White Rock produces elegantly refined, richly concentrated, mineral intensive wines.


Winemaker Notes

Hand harvested, barrel fermented and aged in French oak for 11 months, with 15% Malolactic Fermentation.


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Winemaker:

Christopher Vandendriessche – Winemaker
Michael Vandendriessche – Wine Grower

About the Winemaker:

Winemaking is led by Christopher Vandendriessche. Raised in Napa Valley, he learned the wine business from his parents. Growing up on the farm, Christopher felt that his first passion was science. While at UCSC pursuing a degree in Physics, Christopher began brewing beer in his dorm room. After graduating in 1992, he came home to tell his father he was, “fascinated with fermentation technology.” Realizing the potential of combining his new found interests with the family business, Christopher moved to France and enrolled in the University of Bordeaux. He graduated with an Enology degree, and went on to work at Chateau Pape Clement in Bordeaux. Following harvests in Burgundy, Spain (Remelluri in Rioja), and Argentina (Catena in Mendoza), Christopher returned to Napa for a position as Assistant Winemaker working under John Kongsgaard at Luna. For the next two years, they made wine for a legendary group of winemakers including David Ramey, Dan Baron, Bill Knuttel, and Marco Capelli, among others. In 1999 Christopher returned to White Rock as Winemaker, excited to apply his winemaking techniques to the property he knows so well.
Michael Vandendriessche was raised on the property he now manages. After high school, Michael studied viticulture at Napa Valley College. Not quite ready to settle down after graduation, he spent two years in France studying language methodology, masonry and ornamental iron work. He travelled extensively, working at small farms across Europe, and learning viticulture and terroir during harvest in Burgundy. He returned to Napa in 1996 to take on the role of Vineyard Manager, working the soil that he knows so well.

 

About the Winery
White Rock Vineyards
Situated in a small valley in the southern foothills of the Stag’s Leap Range, White Rock Vineyards’ family-run estate began making wine in the 1870’s. The winery is located underground in the caves that were bored in 1988, one of the first winery caves dug since the 1800’s. Volcanic ash soils, mature hillside vines, a cooler climate, varied exposures, and the caves make these wines complex and concentrated with a mineral character that expresses the earth itself.
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