My Wine of the Week (“WoW”) for August 5th-August 11th  is the 2010 La Follette Sangiacomo Chardonnay

The Winery

La Follette is a small Sonoma County winery specializing in producing small-lot Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.  Additionally, they also produce a Pinot Meunier, a grape you don’t find bottled as a single varietal very often.  The winery is a partnership between proprietors Pete and Terri Kight and winemaker Greg La Follette.  It was launched in 2010.  In addition to this wine, and the aforementioned Pinot Meunier, they also produce two other single-vineyard designate Chardonnay, four single-vineyard designate Pinot Noir along with North Coast appellation Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and a Pinot Noir dessert wine!

The winemaker,Greg La Follette, is not only a renown authority on Pinot Noir, he is a subject matter expert in the area of mouthfeel.  He has studied and experimented extensively with yeasts and how different yeasts affect the mouthfeel and flavors of a wine.  According to La Follette…

His discoveries in this area shine through in the seductive texture and refined balance of his wines

The Wine

The fruit for this wine was sourced from the  Roberts Road Vineyard, which is one of the many Sangiacomo Vineyards properties.  It is located  at the base of Sonoma Mountain in the Penngrove-Cotati area and benefits from the cooling influence of the Petaluma Gap.  It’s located in the Sonoma Coast AVA, an appellation known for producing great Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes.  The vineyard was planted in 1998.

The wine was fermented on native yeast, and raised in French oak barrels for 10 months.  It was aged sur lies with early bâttonage (stirring on the lees).

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My tasting notes follow:

Very light golden-yellow straw color with aromatic honeysuckle, butter, pineapple and slight vanilla aromas. On the palate, it’s elegant with a creamy, enticing mouthfeel. It is smooth, medium-bodied, and nicely balanced with good acidity accompanied by tart apple, pear, lemon, mineral and vanilla flavors. – 91 pts

Recommendation: Highly Recommended – This is an excellent Chard that shows great balance!

Details: 

Alcohol: 14.2%

Closure: Cork

AVA: Sonoma Coast.

Varietal(s): Chardonnay.

Production: 560 cases

Suggested Retail: $38 USD

Media Sample

Many thanks to Folsom & Associates for providing the wine.