2006 Chardonnay Mays Canyon

Pale yellow. Candied peach, apricot, linden tea, ginseng and vanilla on the nose. Denser and more powerful than the Charles Heintz and Thieriot bottlings, but also uncompromisingly dry and rather laid-back, even youthfully austere. Complex mineral and spice tones suggest that this wine will blossom with a couple years of bottle aging. The malolactic fermentation here did not finish until December of 2007. Ted Lemon is now aging his chardonnays in about 30% new oak, a somewhat lower percentage than a few years ago.