Lingua Franca Estate Chardonnay 2017

♦  Grape Varieties

100% Chardonnay

♦  Alcohol

12% abv

♦  Tasting Note

Harmonious and silky in texture, with layered apple, lemon blossom and crushed stone accents that dance on a long, vibrant finish. Drink now through 2021. 365 cases made.
~ 93 Points, Tim Fish, Wine Spectator, Feb 2019

♦  Official Tasting Note

Lingua Franca Estate Chardonnay is a permanent addition to our wine portfolio. Its aroma is a combination of creamy lemon custard, grapefruit zest, jasmine and vanilla. While it has the richest aroma and texture of all our Chardonnays, it is still lively and bright, lifted by its underlying energy; an excellent expression of our vineyard.

♦  Vineyard

Lingua Franca Estate Chardonnay is sourced exclusively from our home LS vineyard that expresses a distinctively mineral quality in our Chardonnay wines. The Chardonnay blocks are located on the stoniest soils we have sitting over bedrock of 150 feet of red basalt. Half of our original vineyard Chardonnay is planted from CH548 cuttings taken from the fabled Montrachet vineyard in Burgundy, and the remainder is planted to the trusted Chardonnay clone 76.

♦  Production

The release of our first Estate Chardonnay involved a rigorous selection of the best barrels and extensive trials by our team. When the wines were tasted blind, the consensus was that these Chardonnay parcels were the finest representation of our Estate for this vintage. The finished wine is the result of fermentation and aging in a combination of new 600-liter French oak barrels and neutral barriques for 11 months. After blending, the wines were put into stainless steel tanks with their lees for an additional five months prior to bottling.

♦  Food Pairing

The Estate Chardonnay will be an excellent accompaniment to rich and subtle dishes such as Halibut with Chanterelle sauce, Plank Smoked Copper River Salmon with Dill Mayonnaise, Lobster Newberg, Quenelles de Brochet avec sauce a l’Armoricain, Black Cod with Shellfish sauce. It is equally delightful with more casual dining options featuring béchamel sauces or cheese-rich dishes, such as a Fondue, Pasticcio or even Lasagna.

♦  Rating

Wine Spectator - 93 Points
Wine Enthusiast- 92 Points