2008 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast

Byron Kosuge told me that he's a fan of the popular chardonnay clone 4 for its high acidity, and that it matches up well with the richness and power of the Wente clone. He believes that with this blend "the wines show good immediate fruit but also have the structure to age, if you want to do that." Like everybody else I visited in March, Kosuge lamented the travails of the 2008 growing season but praised the clean, very fresh fruit ("not much of it") that he was ultimately able to buy. "Name a weather problem and we got it that year," he said. Kosuge advises consumers to wait on opening their '07s, "which are typically big on structure," and to dig into their '08s first "for their opulent and forward fruit."