Three Sticks Gap’s Crown Chardonnay 2020

We have been really impressed with the potential of Gap's Crown as a Chardonnay site. The Dijon clones are known to lend themselves to mineral driven aromatics which are evident in this wine. Notes of citrus and lemon/lime compliment the saline and oyster shell subtleties in this acid-driven chardonnay. Our aging regime on the lees have given this wine a back-end structure and weight that fleshes out the midpalate and continues to shine through the finish.

The hilly Gap’s Crown site is found just east of the small town of Cotati, nestled on a hillside at the head of the Petaluma Gap wind funnel, where cool coastal wind and fog is drawn into the Sonoma Valley. With elevations ranging from 320’ to 820’, the site escapes some of the gusty aspects of the Gap’s geography. Many of the vines sit above the fog level, which benefits ripening and produces incredibly intense fruit.

Clusters were picked at night to ensure the fruit was cold in order to prevent spontaneous fermentation. The clusters were first sorted to remove under ripe clusters, raisins, fungus and any material other than grapes. The clusters were not destemmed and were pressed whole cluster via bladder press. The juice was barreled down after settling into french burgundy barrels, 30% of which were new. The fermentation was carried out by native yeast at a temperature of 10C. Weekly stirring was done until there was 100% malolactic fermentation by inoculated oenococcus. The wine was barrel aged for 11 months and then racked to a stainless steel tank to age for 4 months prior to bottling.

Five different coopers are used to select the barrel prescription for the wine. 100% of the barrels are french burgundy, 30% of which is new. The wine was aged on light lees for 11 months before being racked to a stainless steel tank where it aged for 4 months before being bottled.