Lot #53 ROMBAUER VINEYARDS

This lot features puncheons from a barrel-size trial of the 1982 block from the Sangiacomo Home Ranch Vineyard, one of Rombauer Vineyards’ favorite blocks of Chardonnay. By using a larger barrel, they can create an elegant wine that highlights the fruit intensity of the vineyard while giving slightly less oak impact due to the larger volume to surface of the barrel ratio. Rombauer Vineyards has never bottled a Chardonnay that was aged in anything other than 225/228L barriques, so this is an extremely unique one-off barrel size bottling. “Chardonnay Legends” is in reference to Rombauer Vineyards and Sangiacomo’s history with Chardonnay in Sonoma County.

The Sangiacomo family were the first growers Koerner Rombauer worked with in Carneros, leading the way to Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay as it is today. The Sangiacomo family have farmed in Sonoma since the early 1900s. Their Home Ranch Vineyard was first planted in 1980 and the grapes from this block come from their 1982 plantings, over 40-year-old Chardonnay vines.

Grapes were whole cluster pressed and cold settled overnight. This wine was then racked into 500L French oak puncheons for primary and secondary fermentation. Stirring or bâtonnage occurs weekly for a creamy, plush texture. The larger barrel resulted in an elegant expression of the Home Ranch Chardonnay highlighting the purity of fruit from the vineyard.

WINEMAKER(S): Richie Allen

ESTIMATED BOTTLING DATE: June 2023
ESTIMATED SHIPPING DATE: December 2023

National Distribution: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY, Washington, DC

International Distribution: Includes Japan, Korea, Norway; please inquire for additional countries.

A winemaker dinner or store visit is offered in your market as part of this lot. Must be scheduled on a mutually agreeable date.