The 2019 vintage was about as balanced a season as we could have hoped for. Classic Pennsylvania weather granting us a classic Chardonnay from the old Crouch Block. With vines originally planted in 1973 (and subsequently added to in 1981, 1990, 1999, 2004, and 2012) and comprised of seven different clones, this wine is as complex and deep as we can hope for in a white wine.
We used two new Sansaud French oak barrels and two once-filled barrels for aging this wine, and yet the oak character is not overt. Aging on the lees in the barrels has provided an integration between the fruit flavors and the oak such that you can't tell where one stops and the other begins. The creamy and supple richness make this a bigger-than-average Chardonnay. Rarely have we been able to release one of these wines with the proper amount of bottle aging, but even still the wine could benefit from perhaps another year in the bottle. Look for this wine to drink nicely through 2024 and then mature into a more honeyed lusciousness