Description

ABOUT THE PRODUCER:
Senses Wines is the dream of three childhood friends. Christopher, Max and Myles, who partnered with critically acclaimed winemaker, Thomas Rivers Brown, to produce worldclass wines from renowned vineyards owned by their families. Since founding in 2011, Senses Wines production has grown to include many coveted vineyard sites throughout northern California. The estate vineyards are located in the West Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley, specifically just outside the town of Occidental where the three founders grew up. On the label, the second letter ‘e’ has been substituted with the number ‘3’ representing the three founders and the three wine senses of sight, scent and sip. They believe the vineyards are their greatest asset, and meticulously farm each vine so the winemaking process can be as hands-off as possible. This approach ensures complexity and finesse for each wine, vintage after vintage, and their stunning wines are testament to their dedicated passion.

THE VINTAGE:
2020 exuded significant promise with mild temperatures and cold nights to preserve the bright acidity. As most of the vineyards are on hills and ridge-tops, they were unaffected by spring frost. Springtime rains threatened fruit-set, but were also welcome, after a very dry winter. 2020 shows excellent concentration and very clean fruit, which makes for age-worthy Chardonnay with high acidity and ripe fruit characters.

ABOUT THE VINEYARD:
The grapes come from the Heintz family, who has owned their ranch in the Sonoma Coast AVA for over 100 years. In 1982, Charles Heintz planted Clone 4 Chardonnay, he produces fruit for some of the top names in California. The 10-hectare vineyard comprises the renowned Goldridge soil, a light and fluffy sandy loam with excellent drainage properties. The vines are planted in 7×12’ spacing, on a split canopy, they are sustainably cultivated and manually harvested. The healthy, mature vines, thrive in the warm microclimate which is tempered by the cool, coastal breezes and the trademark fog that lingers over the vineyards, bringing moisture and cooling the vines. The result is a long hang-time, during which the vines slowly build aromatic complexity, concentrated flavours, superbly balanced by natural, crisp freshness. The world-class fruit that is produced here is summed up by Robert Parker, whose assessment of the vineyard is “…one of the great grand cru Chardonnay sites in California.”

THE WINEMAKING PROCESS:
The grapes were barrel-fermented with indigenous yeasts from the vineyard to fully express the site. The wine underwent careful bâtonnage, the amount and frequency was carefully tailored to the barrel. The wine was matured for 14 months in 100% French oak, of which 30% was new, 70% was second or third passage.

OUR TASTING NOTES:
Elegant and expressive, the palate is packed with sublime stone fruits layered with spice, cedar and candied ginger, framed by a racy backbone, with a silky texture and extraordinarily long finish.

GRAPE VARIETY:
Chardonnay 100%.