1996
Paul Hobbs Chardonnay, Richard Dinner Vineyard
Winemaker's Notes
Aromas of pear, fig, orange-peel and honey combine lavishly with vanilla, sweet spices, and toasty oak wood. Layered, and lingering on the palate, this meticulously handcrafted wine complements a wide assortment of richly flavored cuisine or can be enjoyed as an aperitif. This wine is worthy of several years of cellaring.
Vineyard
Owner/Manager
Caroline and Patti Dinner
Vineyard
Richard Dinner Vineyard
Clones
Old Wente
Vineyard Age
14 years
Site
Hillside, northern exposure, clay-loam with lens of volcanic tuft
Yield
2.8 tons/acre
Harvest
Harvest Date
September 4, 5 and 6, 1996
Harvest Brix
Range: 22.6° - 23.7°
Growing Season
The 1996 crop was marginally larger than 1995, both were tiny. Weather on Sonoma Mountain for the growing period was generally moderate and, in the final weeks leading up to harvest the days remained long and warm with very cold nights. In this respect 1996 was superior to 1995, a vintage which finished dry and hot causing many plants to suffer down the home stretch. Again, as in 1995, berry size was very small yielding fruit of remarkable concentration.
Winemaking
Hand-harvested grapes
Whole cluster, direct-to-press
Barrel fermented with indigenous yeast, 2 to 5 months to completion
Concurrent spontaneous malolactic fermentation
Barrel aged 10 months, 44% new French oak, sur-lies and stirred
Unblended, unfined, unfiltered; bottled August 1997
