2005 Avenius Chardonnay
Tasting notes November 2016: golden color; alluring aroma, toasty treacle, melon, ripe apple. Rich, creamy palate, lush and layered, but finishes abruptly. No benefit from additional aging. Drink now. (JL)
Palate
Rich & viscous, mouth filling almond oil, buttered croissants.
Aromas
Ripe pear, hazelnut, autuman leaves, baked apple & allspice.
Food Pairings
Butter sautéed mushrooms, roast chicken or other white meats.
Vineyard
Avenius Vineyard is owned and operated by Shari Avenius, who is also Linden Vineyard’s director. It is located on the Blue Ridge one half mile north of Linden Vineyards at an elevation of 1,300 feet on a steep northeast facing slope. Soils are well- drained rocky greenstone and shale. The vines were planted in 1996 and are trained on the French lyre trellising system.
Vintage
The vintage started very slowly with a very cool spring, delaying bud break several weeks past normal. Early summer was slightly dry and cool, but became progressively warmer. A welcomed hot August helped accelerate veraison and ripening. We were still a few days behind normal ripening as September gave us perfect warm days and cool nights. The Chardonnay grapes had wonderful concentration and aromatics. Acids were lower than normal. Little or no sorting was required. There was essentially no rain in September, which gave great concentration and sap to the wines. Harvest was September 23, 2005.
Winemaking
The chilled grapes were sorted, pressed, juice settled and then barrel fermented in older French oak. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations were un-inoculated (native). Aged sur lie in barrel for 10 months. 144 cases produced. The 2005 vintage is showing well when young, however it may not age as long as the 1999, 2002 and 2006 vintages.
Linden Vineyards / Our Wines / 2005 Vintage | 2005 Avenius Chardonnay