2017 The Eyrie Vineyards CHARDONNAY ESTATE
THE VITICULTURE & VINIFICATION Both estate vineyard sites are 100% certifed organic and picked by hand. The grapes were pressed in a combination of antique basket press and Champagne cycle press. Juice was run to neutral French oak barrels, fermented with indigenous yeasts, aged on the lees for 11 months without stirring, and bottled with a light filtration.
THE WINE The 2017 vintage marks the second year that Eyrie Chardonnay includes both the Draper selection from our Original Vines, but also heritage clonse planted at Sisters Vineyard in the Dundee Hills.
DIVERSITY Two clones, one selection massale, and a five-decade span of vine ages contribute to a diverse and complex expression of Chardonnay. THE VINTAGE Record breaking precipitation fell in February followed by heavier than normal rain through the spring. The summer was dry and quite warm; fortunately, our deeply rooted vines weathered it well, drawing on the spring rains soaked deep in the soil. Late-summer smoke from forest fires in the Columbia Gorge was worrysome, but a burst of rain two weeks before harvest washed the vines and refreshed them – and put out the fires in the Gorge. At the end of September, harvest began as moderate temperatures moved in. This vintage was closest to “normal” of the last five years, starting just before our historical average of October 5.
TECHNICAL NOTES Fermentation & Aging: Burgundy Barrels (87.5% Neutral, 12.5% New) Production in cases: 625 Bottling date: September 2018 Appellation: Dundee Hills (100% Estate) pH: 3.41 Total acidity: 5.3 g/L Residual sugar 0.0 Alcohol % by volume 12.71
80.5% DRAPER SELECTION – 52 YEAR OLD VINES, ORIGINAL VINEYARD This is a massale selection made by David Lett in 1964 from old vines in California. Clusters and vines show a range of shapes and berry sizes. 6.2% WENTE CLONE – 4 YEAR OLD VINES, SISTERS VINEYARD Wente is related to the same 1882 importation from France that sired the Draper selection. Wente is typified by open clusters with “hens and chicks” berry sizes. 13.3% STERLING CLONE – 4 YEAR OLD VINES, SISTERS VINEYARD Sterling is another heritage clone originating from a Californina vineyard near the site of the Draper Selection. Intensely aromatic, with compact cluster and even berry sizes.