Osprey Chardonnay

VINTAGE NOTES

2022 in Mendocino County was a good year for farming. Bud break was on the early side but avoided all potential frost damage with a warm spring. The summer was warm, but cooler than recent vintages with no extended heat waves that can cook the grapes. Generally, Mendocino has a slightly shorter growing season compared to Napa and Sonoma, so the wines show brighter and crisper green apple notes.

VINEYARD NOTES

Nelson Family Vineyards are certified sustainable and fish friendly vineyards. The grapes for the 2022 Osprey Chardonnay are sourced from a single vineyard south of Ukiah in the McNab Creek watershed surrounded by coastal mountains. The steep topography spills cool air down into the valley and keeps the nights cool and crisp. The result is ripe tropical fruit flavors backed by lifting bright acidity, making for great food wines.

WINEMAKING PRACTICES

Winemaking decisions were made to let the vineyard - the place - speak through the wine. In addition, each wine is treated like a new child born into the Trinity River Vineyards family. The family has some commonality due to winemaking choices designed to produce bright food wines but is also unique in its position in time and seasonality. No heavy-handed oak or additives were used to mold this wine into something it is not. Instead, very little is done except to keep it clean and to allow the wine to become itself. The 2022 Osprey Chardonnay is whole cluster pressed and 100% stainless steel fermented and aged. A cool primary fermentation and only 30% malolactic fermentation are other winemaking choices designed to produce a crisp, lively food wine. With no fining involved in the production, this wine is a pure distillation of the Nelson Family Ranch in Mendocino, California.

WINEMAKER’S TASTING NOTES

A subtle floral and fruity nose is followed by green apple and melon fruit flavors. This is a crisp lightly oaked chardonnay more reminiscent of Burgundy then Napa. 80% Stainless Steel throughout production keeps this wine bright and full of tension. It is ripe but has great acidity for balance.

FOOD PAIRING NOTES

The 2022 Osprey Chardonnay is a great choice for seafood. I love it with Dungeness crab cake, but it wowed family and friends with seared scallops in a citrus cilantro glaze. Cheers!

VARIETAL COMPOSITION:

100% Chardonnay

APPELLATION: Mendocino County, CA

ALCOHOL: 13.6%

T.A. AT BOTTLING: 6.0 g/L

pH AT BOTTLING: 3.61

BRIX AT HARVEST: 23°

PRODUCTION: 289 cases