Radio-Coteau Wingtime Chardonnay 2021

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The Wingtine Chardonnay is named after a specialised cultivation tool, the wing tine shank. It is used by Radio-Coteau—and more broadly in the Sonoma Coast area—to cultivate their Goldridge (sandy loam) soils. Its unique design lifts and fractures the ground vertically and horizontally, reducing tractor passes while maintaining soil structure.

The cuvée is sourced from Radio-Coteau’s biodynamic estate vineyard and the Heintz Ranch vineyard, just a stone’s throw away in Occidental. The estate vineyard’s SeaBed plot is home to several of the Wente clones, the original of which arrived from Burgundy in 1912. Described by Robert Parker as “one of the greatest Grand Cru sites for Chardonnay in California”, Heintz Ranch is an organically farmed site with mature vines (30-plus years old) and an excellent diurnal range, ensuring fruit with rich flavours and balanced acidities. Sussman believes the balance of the two parcels delivers the most striking result.

The fruit was hand-harvested in early September from both sites, whole bunch-pressed and fermented in a combination of concrete egg, stainless steel and neutral oak. Long (16 months) maturation on lees followed with no stirring, and the wine went through full malolactic conversion before being bottled without fining or filtration.

Compared with Radio-Coteau’s Anderson Valley Savoy Chardonnay, the Wingtine has a more floral and mineral-driven style (the Puligny to the Savoy Vineyard’s Meursault?)."

- Bibendum