The 2005 August Briggs Russian River Chardonnay is our tenth release of this rich wente/#4 clone chardonnay. This family owned vineyard is located on Westside Road just west of the city of Healdsburg. It sits just off the Russian River and is planted in former rocky river bottom. A moderate crop, coupled with a very long growing season, allowed these over twenty-five year old vines to produce fruit with intense pear, apple, and honey aromas, coupled with flavors of melon, caramel, and vanilla. This wine is quite well balanced with a distinct mineral quality which allows for future bottle aging. Grapes were harvested at 24.8 brix, whole-cluster pressed, cold settled, inoculated with yeast, and racked to barrels for fermentation. Barrels used were 100% French, with 35% being new F. Freres and 65% being a mix of 2 year old barrels from the previous vintage. After completion of fermentation the wine was inoculated with a malo-lactic culture, stirred weekly, and sur-lees aged months. This wine was bottled without filtration. |