2020 "Athas" Chardonnay

A mild and dry winter in the early months of 2020 was followed by a dry growing season through the summer. However, in typical Northwest fashion our spring con- ditions saw wide swings between early season heat then cool. At flowering in mid- June we experienced low temperatures, cloud cover and some sporadic rains, not a lot, but enough to naturally lower our yields. Those conditions led to smaller berries, and variation in berry size, which we love to refer to as “hens and chicks”. Following that the summer season progressed with moderately warm days that weren’t too hot along with cool nights, where the vines were able to rest in the evening and concen- trate their efforts on developing more fruit complexity and flavor. We were blessed with a harvest that presented very good quality fruit at lower yields. We picked our 2020 Athas Chardonnay on October 4th, where we benefited from the slightly extended ripening to produce outstanding quality with beautiful flavors, overall bal- ance complemented by great natural acidity.