Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/711666
{ SOMMjournal.com } 101 The Wente Clone Comparative Tasting Wente Vineyard 2015 Small Lot Eric's Chardonnay, Livermore Valley Picked at lower sugars (21° to 22° Brix) and 100% stainless steel fermented and aged (zero oak); floral, citrus peel nose with tangerine-like juiciness; steely medium body punctuated by lemony tartness. HdV 2013 Chardonnay, Hyde Vineyard, Carneros–Napa Valley Orange blossom, a slice of white peach and mineral/flintiness in the nose; round, fleshy medium- full body lightened and sharpened by fresh citrus crispness. Ramey 2013 Chardonnay, Woolsey Road Vineyard, Russian River Valley Vinified from Old Wente selections culled from Hyde Vineyard's Livermore block, demonstrating the colder-climate terroir of the Russian River Valley; a nose of sweet pear-towards-green-apple with floral, citrusy undertones and subtle vanillin/creaminess; slightly racier, tart-edged yet fleshy, finely balanced, layered in feel and breadth. La Follette 2014 Chardonnay, Lorenzo Vineyard, Russian River Valley Mineral, floral and lemony/citrus qualities drive this medium-full bodied wine; tart, steely edginess. Alquimista 2015 Chardonnay, Lorenzo Vineyard, Russian River Valley barrel sample Unresolved earthi - ness, mineral, mildly microbial, raw notes to this lemony tart, tightly wound, medium-bodied barrel sample. Byron 2014 Chardonnay, Nielson Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley Good clarity of orange/ citrus Old Wente fruit character unobscured by mildly toasty oak; zesty edged, with phenolic density of house style. 2002, shared these observations on Wente Chardonnay selections: "We produce six different Chardonnays, four of which are single-vineyard bottlings, which we consider our 'grand crus.' The criteria we use to identify best wines is, in fact, that they are all planted to Old Wente selections. It is not a presumed assumption of caliber ; it's what we find in these plantings . . . more acidity and a hens-and-chicks morphology that gives us higher skin-to-juice ratios, and thus increased phenolics, flavors, aromatics and textures—everything you find in the skin." Chris Hyde—whose father Larry Hyde first began planting Wente selections in 1979 on the Napa Valley side of the Carneros AVA— spoke about the advantages of Old Wente mixes in what they call their Livermore blocks, planted from cuttings that came directly from Wente Vineyards on a UPS truck. "A big plus is that the Livermore selections ripen earlier," said Hyde. "Their skins aren't as big, and you don't end up with simple tropical fruity flavors, but more of a mineral expression." In previous conversations, Larry Hyde has told us: "I chose to specialize in Wentes because these are the varieties best adapted to California. Dijon clones were developed in France to give you lower acidity, consis - tent fruit profiles and good production. We have the opposite challenge in California—we want higher acid, smaller production, more minerality and less fruitiness, and Wente selections give you all of that." Karl D. Wente also pointed out that for large commercial bottlings such as their Wente Morning Fog Livermore Valley Chardonnay—which can retail as low as $12 to $15—use of higher-yielding U.C. Davis clones are a big advantage, yet "the quality of the grapes means the wines can still be a work of art." Mike Hendry, Vineyard Manager and Director of Sales & Marketing of Hendry Ranch Wines, talked about the role that Wente selections play in ultra-premium Chardonnay production: "Most of what we plant are small-cluster, tiny-berry Old Wentes averaging 1.8 tons per acre, whereas our plantings of Dijon clones average twice that, over three tons per acre. . . point being, this is what illustrates the lengths we're willing to go to produce a higher-quality wine, which we're more likely to get from Wente selections." Greg La Follette—formerly of his eponymous La Follette Wines, but now Winemaker/Partner of a new project called Alquimista Cellars— poured Lorenzo Vineyard (Russian River Valley) bottlings under both labels to illustrate what he called the "sensuality" intrinsic in Wente selections. Said La Follette, "The higher acid you get in Wentes, especially those exhibiting classic hens-and-chicks cluster architecture, simply lends itself better to traditional Burgundian wild yeast fermentation, which for us can last 12, 15 months in barrel. If you're interested in Chardonnay that expresses not just a grape but also a vineyard or terroir, these selections give you the advantage." Jonathan Nagy, Winemaker for both Byron Winery and Nielson by Byron, also showed two wines under those labels, both from vineyards planted to Old Wente genetic material traceable to Uriel Nielson's 1964 planting—historic for being the first wine grapes planted in Santa Barbara County. Nagy talked about the "raciness and underlying miner - ality" related to the elevated acid levels of Chardonnays crafted from Wente selections, particularly in combination with Santa Maria Valley's cool climate and sandy/shale/limestone soil. "Terroir is the predominant factor," said Nagy, "but there are reasons, aside from the historic nature of the material, why Ken Brown took the trouble to take cuttings from the original Nielson plantings when establishing the Byron vineyards."