05 Chardonnay, Sleepy Hollow, Santa Lucia (half-bottle)

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From the website:

2005 was an extraordinary vintage. Harvest was slow and leisurely, which is not unusual for Monterey. Bud-break occurred late February, which is typically two weeks ahead of other regions. The extra month of hang time on the vine produces fruit-forward characteristics that differentiate Monterey from other areas. Overall, the farming season weather was very good even with an early season mildew attack that required a strong defense and received immediate correction. Cluster weights were obviously increased due to the above average amount of rain during the winter and it required that we drop some crop to maintain our “kilo of fruit per plant" regimen. Mild weather ensured that acids remained high and at harvest, grapes were at a healthy 10 grams per liter with the pH well under 3.1. Harvest took place on October 11 and 14 with a total of 21 tons harvested from 10 acres.

These vines are beginning to slow down as they reach into their 38th year of life, especially given their own rooted system. We typically do not green harvest fruit here. I prefer to leave one bud per spur at pruning to ensure that we not produce an excessive amount of fruit that would be cut away later in the season.

The Vineyard
Sleepy Hollow Vineyard is situated along the Santa Lucia bench in the northwestern section of the Salinas Valley of Monterey County. Planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in 1970, it was independently owned until 1990 when Robert Talbott purchased the property for his Talbott Winery.

The vineyard is broken up into two major parcels: A and B. Parcel B produces the best quality Chardonnay by far and it is in this parcel that Talbott Winery harvests grapes for its own Talbott Chardonnay. Our particular block within parcel B is Set 6, which is located in the upper 1/3 of the gently sloping vineyard. We select blocks located high on the slopes to ensure good drainage and intensity of flavor in the grapes. The soil consists of sandy loam and Monterey shale making for excellent drainage. The vines are self-rooted and are a combination of Wente and Mount Eden clones. The trellis is a split canopy designed to acclimate the clusters to sun early in the year, thus avoiding sunburn later in the summer. This trellis design also helps to produce more evenly ripened fruit.

The Production
The grapes were handpicked and delivered to the winery in the morning and then whole cluster pressed using a small bladder press. The more delicate, low phenolic juice offsets the lower yield of whole-cluster pressing. The juice was cold settled for 24 hours and then racked to 48 barrels. Fermentation took place in Sirugue French oak barrels, of which 35% were new wood. With the addition of our temperature-controlled cellar, primary fermentation lasted well over 30 days.

Concomitant with the primary fermentation is the malolactic fermentation (a conversion of malic acid to lactic acid), which helps reduce the total acid and soften the wine. The wine was aged sur lie for 22 months to reduce oxygen uptake and to soften the mouth feel of the wine. Barrels were hand-stirred every two weeks for six months to improve the textures of the wine and to promote the release of CO2 to protect the wine during the secondary fermentation. No filtration was required of this wine and only a bit of wine was used to fine out some proteins.

Tasting Notes

91 points from Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar - "Greenish gold. Ripe tangerine and peach on the nose, with a bright mineral undercurrent adding energy. Round and spicy, with deep but brisk orchard and pit fruit flavors. Gains weight on the finish but this possesses outstanding vivacity and cut." 91 points from Burghound: "A very fresh nose of melon, white flower, honey, pear and a very subtle herbal note gives way to round, rich, fullbodied and utterly delicious big-bodied flavors that possess excellent depth and length. Moreover, there is good acidity here that keeps everything focused and in balance and despite the size and weight, there is nary a trace of heaviness. I’m not sure that I would push the cellaring beyond 3 to 4 years but this should certainly support near-term aging. Lovely."