Vineyard Notes: Camino Alto is located high in the foothills north of Camino, Ca in El Dorado County. It is farmed by Chuck Mansfield who oversees the vineyards of some of the best wineries in the foothills. His family has been growing grapes, peaches, plums, pears & apples in the foothills for 3 generations. The Chardonnay block is an eastern-facing hillside on decomposed volcanic soils.

Cellar Notes: We were very excited to work with this fruit again in 2023, after frost wiped out the crop in 2022! We brought in 3 tons, which was destemmed to the bladder press & pressed to tank for cold-settling. For fermentation, we racked the juice to 3 barrels (1 new French oak & 2 neutral), stainless steel & a small amount to our 80-gallon amphora. After the native fermentation finished up, the barrels were stirred & topped with wine from tank, while the amphora & tank wine was racked to neutral barrels separately for aging. The wines were then blended together & bottled in May 2024. 

Tasting Notes: Unmistakably Chardonnay, this wine has aromas of pear, lemon curd, burnt orange & lemongrass, while the palate is mouth-filling with oranges, butterscotch, caramel & mint in a long finish.

Label: We picked a quintessential California bird for our Chardonnay - the quail.  The rolling hills represent El Dorado County and you'll see baskets of apples that represent the Mansfield's GoldBud Farm, where the Mansfields have been growing grapes, peaches, plums, pears, & apples for 3 generations!  

Pair With: Triple-cream brie, pasta alfredo, white bean pesto pasta