2002 Chalk Hill Estate Bottled

The Furth family's winery, founded in 1972, enjoys one of the best views in Sonoma County. It also produces a rich, plush-textured Chardonnay with notes of spicy pear

CHALK HILL ESTATE'S NEWEST Estate Bottled Chardonnay continues the unmistakable quality and stylistic thread that has been evident in our previous vintages. Our pioneering clonal research program allows us to evaluate and then match the most preferred clones to specific vineyard sites.

This commitment to quality winegrowing is manifested in the 2002 Chardonnay, a wine comprised of no less than fifteen different clones picked from over thirty small, distinct vineyard enclaves.   The heralded  2002 vintage featured a temperate growing season with a long stretch of dry, warm, autumn weather.

The Chardonnay vineyards on the estate slowly advance to full maturity, gaining richness, weight, and flavor concentration. Hand harvested with the utmost care, the grapes were shepherded through our traditional, Burgundian-style winemaking. The entire vintage was allowed to progress in barrel through both native yeast fermentations and native malolactic fermentations that imparted layers of texture and complexity.

Aged in 40% new French oak for nine months, minimally fined and gently bottled, the wine boasts intense aromas of pear, apple, hazelnut and integrated oak. Flavors of lemon curd and brown spice are buoyed by the creamy, fresh acidity - a signature combination of richness and elegance.

The true essence of Chalk Hill is its estate, a unique corner of California wine country. Here, proprietors Fred and Peggy Furth both preserve the nature of the land and honor it by producing wines reflecting its exceptional qualities.