2006 Chardonnay Martinelli Road

"Two thousand six was a lighter than normal harvest here in the Russian River Valley but we got more tonnage than usual out on the coast," said Lee Martinelli. "And one fact that is very important about conditions out there is that it is usually very warm during harvest. There's no fog during September, which gives the vines a good boost of sunshine at the end of the season." During my tasting here, winemaker Helen Turley talked about the folly of harvesting by the numbers when it comes to zinfandel, telling me that "when the birds are really going after the grapes, you know that they're ready. Those birds know when the fruit is perfect a lot better than the anti-alcohol people do."