95% X Omni Vineyard Chardonnay matured into rosé with 5% Jessie James Vineyard Pinot noir lees
Vineyard: 95% X Omni Vineyard, 5% Jessie James Vineyard
X Omni Vineyard chardonnay Block 5 picked on 9/8/21
X Omni Vineyard chardonnay Block 4 picked on 9/16/21
Dense plantings of 15 distinct clones of Chardonnay being transitioned to organic farming
Planted on a rocky hilltop in Nekia, Gelderman and Jory over volcanic basalt between 2014 and 2016 on rootstock Vines spaced 3.5×6 between 475’-515’ with slopes between 2-10%
Vintage: Bud break occurred during a warm week in mid-April, and May was warm and dry. After an early start to bloom, the second week of June brought cooler, breezy, and humid weather, with 1.25 inches of rain. Flowering finished closer to average timing in the second and third weeks of June. At the end of the month, a strong high- pressure system trapped extreme heat in the valley for three days, causing daytime highs to reach 115F and causing the vines to shut down. July was seasonably warm and dry, with the heat intensifying towards the end of the month. Early August was hot and dry, reaching a peak of 105 F in the second week before cooling off towards the end of the month. September was a very pleasant month, with warm days, cool evenings, and just enough precipitation. I began picking in the Dundee Hills on August 30th and I finished in the Eola-Amity Hills on September 22nd.
Vinification: A rose d’assembleage of X Omni Vineyard Chardonnay blended with Pinot noir lees from Jessie James Vineyard, courtesy of the Eztel brothers. Both lots of hard press from X Omni were crushed into the press, browned in steel with no sulfur added prior to primary fermentation. Ambient yeast fermentation engaged completed in 50% new 265L Damy and 50% stainless steel as ambient malolactic engaged in late winter 2021. By March 2022, both lots were sulfured and racked: the new 265L with Block 5 to an old 228L barrel, and Block 4 from a stainless tank to stainless steel drum. After twelve months aging on chardonnay lees, the lots were blended with Pinot noir lees in stainless steel for a second winter. After six months in steel on Pinot noir lees, bottled 2/28/23 under DIAM 10 cork.