The 2016 Unleashed Chardonnay simply screams “ripe fruit and cream” in its lush and unoaked style of Chardonnay. A blend of 3 of the north coast's best vineyards!
The Mirassou family – the oldest winemaking family in the United States – have been pioneers in a number of important ways. One of the most relevant in terms of this new Chardonnay release is that they were the first family to plant vineyards in modern-day Monterey County in 1961. Aged on the lees for about 10 months and barrel-fermented in about 50% new French oak, three sub-lots of Chardonnay were blended and bottled without filtration or fining. Each sub-lot (of roughly equal size) was fermented with a different yeast regimen. For one portion we did “native” fermentation (letting the ambient yeast environment ferment the must) while the other lots were fermented with one of our favored cultured
yeasts: CY-3079 and QA23. Each lot was wonderfully individualistic, differing in flavor, aroma, and texture. Together, they created a wine of finesse and elegance; mouth-filling richness underscored by precise, length-producing acidity.
The 2016 vintage was great for Chardonnay, giving us
long, sunny days with mild temperatures that retained
the fruit’s natural acidity. Our fermentation was carried
out in a mixture of new and used French oak barrels
using native wild yeast, and periodically lees stirring. The
finished wine is rich and creamy with a charming
butterscotch component, and a trace of grilled bread in
the aroma.
2014 “mbf” Chardonnay — sophisticated and delicious, elegant and balanced. A little more fruit-forward than previous vintages and with delicious flavors of lemon and green apple, Brenda has once again let the fruit shine through. In this third vintage of mbf Chardonnay, Brenda used 50% stainless steel and 50% new French oak barrel fermentation. Great with seafood!
