2015 Auteur Chardonnay Durell Vineyard

The 2015 Chardonnay Durrell Vineyard comes from marine and volcanic soils and is 100% from the Old Wente Clone. It was aged 16 months in 40% new French oak. It’s one of the more tight, backward, and reserved wines in the lineup, yet I love it salty, orchard fruit, and orange blossom aromas and flavors. It’s a big, full-bodied, concentrated Chardonnay that’s packed with potential, yet just needs another year or two in bottle to round into form. This was a brilliant lineup of wines from the husband and wife team of Kenneth and Laura Juhasz, self-proclaimed Burgundy lovers who look for cooler, hillside, rocky sites to work with. Their wines all come from purchased fruit. Classic, old-school, balanced Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays are the name of the game here.