Buehler Vineyards 2010 Russian River Valley Chardonnay

Our 2010 Russian River Chardonnay is born from two vineyards within the Russian River appellation: Wood Vineyard, located on River Rd and River Vineyard, located in the heart of Sonoma’s Russian River Valley on East Side Road. The floral, mineral, and lime aromas and steely structure of the River Vineyard are complemented by the peach and apricot aromas and more fleshy structure of the Wood Vineyard.

Our winemaking philosophy remains the same since we first introduced the Russian River Chardonnay in 1993: less intervention is better in dealing with a delicate variety like chardonnay. Winemaking techniques including sur-lie aging, lees stirring, full malolactic fermentation, and the measured use of some new French oak are employed to bring you this delicious rendition from Sonoma’s premier chardonnay appellation.

The end result of the cool, rainy spring of 2010 was ultimately a harvest that began about two weeks later than “normal”. Growers struggled to meet the demands of the 2010 growing season as the late spring and cool summer demanded more hand work in the vineyard to ensure that the grapes delivered at harvest were of the usual optimum quality. We started harvesting our Russian River Chardonnay the second week of October. In typical fashion for a harvest that begins later than normal, our Cabernet Sauvignon harvest in Napa started at exactly the same time as our Chardonnay harvest in Russian River Valley making for long days at the winery and a compressed, four-week harvest instead of the more standard six-week harvest.

The 2010 Russian River Chardonnay displays abundant floral/ stone fruit aromas lightly accented by toasty, graham cracker sur-lie qualities. The mouthfeel is creamy and full but the natural acidity of the Russian River fruit carries this velvet textured package to a long, clean finish.

David Cronin
Winemaker


Brix at Harvest 23.2
TA 0.57 g/100 ml
PH 3.54
RS 0.14 g/100 ml
Alcohol 13.9 % vol
Production 15,000 cases