2017 Flambeaux Wine Chardonnay

Qty	Item	Description	Price	Total
			Subtotal	$0.00

View Cart

Wine Specs

Vintage

2017

Varietal

Chardonnay

Appellation

Sonoma Coast

Harvest Date

September 4 & 6, 2017

Titratable Acidity

6.56 g/L

3.36

Aging

Aged 11 months in 100% French oak barrels: 30% new oak, 70% neutral barrels

Fermentation

Fermented in barrel using native yeasts.

Bottling Date

August 10, 2018

Alcohol %

14.4

2017 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast

Perfect Pairing: trout almandine, crab cakes, charcuterie board

96 Points, Double Gold, and Best of Class - Sunset Intl. Wine Competition

92 Points - Wine Advocate

90 Points - Wine Enthusiast

GOLD - San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

GOLD and 91 Points - 2020 Critics Challenge Intl. Wine Competition

2021 Mother's Day Pick - Arizona Daily Sun

Wine Profile

Tasting Notes

The 2017 Flambeaux Sonoma Coast Chardonnay expresses a wonderful balance of bright, clean fruit with a hint of warm oak spice. Sweet baked breads with notes of minerality frame lemon curd and tropical fruit flavors. The long, pleasing finish invites more sips.

Ratings

98 POINTS DOUBLE GOLD Best of Class, Sunset International Wine Competition~ 92 POINTS, Wine Advocate ~ "Light gold in the glass with a slight tinge of green, this wine smells of buttered popcorn and cold cream. In the mouth, relatively brisk lemon curd and white floral flavors have a nice complexion and excellent acidity with only the faintest trace of wood influence, mostly in texture rather than wood flavor. Pineapple lingers in the finish. A classically styled California Chardonnay." Score: between 8.5 and 9., Vinography ALDER YARROW ~ GOLD 91 POINTS 2020 Critics Challenge International Wine Competition ~ 90 POINTS, Wine Enthusiast "This is a substantially fleshy, rounded white wine, offering concentrated flavors of almond paste, white peach and crème brûlée. The oak is integrated and supportive, with nuanced wisps of nutmeg and vanilla." VIRGINIE BOONE

Awards

GOLD, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition~ SILVER, The Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge

Vineyard Profile

The 2017 Flambeaux Sonoma Coast Chardonnay comes from two world-class vineyards owned by the Sangiacomo family, one of Sonoma County’s original--and leading--grape-growing families. Located near the Petaluma Gap, the Roberts Road Vineyard is characterized by cool temperatures and coastal fogs. The block is planted with the Dijon clone 95, a variety ideally suited for even the coolest climates and which adds a sparkling minerality and a green apple component to the blend. The Kiser Vineyard is situated farther inland in southwestern Sonoma and is planted with the Wente clone, a cultivar that contributes bright acidity balanced with the concentrated and weighty stone fruit flavors.

Production Notes

We picked the grapes at night, bringing them to the winery early in the morning to ensure that the fruit remained cold-stable. The whole clusters were gently pressed directly into barrels, allowing native yeasts—yeast already present on the grapes’ skin—to naturally begin fermentation. The barrels were kept open-top, which allowed the juice to brown and drop out any unstable pigments. After this primary, oxidative fermentation, a method that lends itself to rich and smooth wine style, the wine underwent malolactic fermentation, a secondary process in which tart malic acid is converted to creamy lactic acid. In January 2017, we blended the wine, then aged it for 11 months in a combination of 30% new French oak and 70% neutral French oak barrels.

Winemaker Notes

This 2017 Chardonnay is our first offering of Chardonnay to the Flambeaux family, and we are thrilled to be able to add to our wonderful lineup of wines. Chardonnay is a favorite of ours and to be able to work with the Sangiacomo family's fruit only makes it that much better. The goal is to create a wine that has juicy acidity with nice spice, texture and concentration. – Winemaker Ryan Prichard

Food Pairing

Try with: fresh seafood (oysters, crab and lobster and halibut or sole), delicate pastas, or cream-based dishes.

Production

200 cases

About Flambeaux Wine

Flambeaux are the dancing torchbearers of Carnival night parades. A quintessential symbol of New Orleans Mardi Gras tradition, Flambeaux represent all that we love best about wine—light flickering in a glass, complex flavors dancing across the palate, and a celebration of life.