2017 Chardonnay Fermata

Tasting through this new set of releases with winemaker Sabrine Rodems I was struck by the wines’ overall sense of energy and nuance, which has always been present here but seemed much to the fore with these ‘17s. “It was a pretty classic year aside from the nasty heat at the beginning of September,” Sabrine told me, “but you can always rely on the constant of cold nights and foggy mornings to hold things together,” which clearly happened in 2017. The wines are made with an extremely light touch, with native yeasts and minimal to no filtering. New oak does come into play but the wines rarely see more than 30% of it in new form and it consistently plays a background role. Whole clusters are also used for the Pinots and Syrahs, in varying percentages based on vintage conditions.