Our vineyards planted in the Santa Lucia Highlands experience a long and dry growing season that results in wines with remarkable depth, complexity and ripe fruit flavors. Our SLH vineyards—Lone Oak, Smith, Doctor’s, and Hook—are planted on a narrow bench at elevations ranging from 200 to 1,200 feet above sea level. Here, plentiful sun and well drained soils aid concentration and flavor development.
THE 2014 GROWING SEASON
A perfect spring and early bud break coupled with the typical daytime temperatures and accompanying winds has led to another incredible harvest in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The warmer than normal temperatures of the Monterey Bay led to warmer night time temperatures causing slightly lower than normal acids and earlier ripening. Typically in SLH the harvest is not completed until early November however, this growing season we saw a mid-October finish.
WINEMAKING
After being carefully picked and precisely sorted for quality, the grapes were pressed off their skins and fermented entirely in small French oak barrels. We then hand-stirred the wine on its lees every three weeks for the nine months this Chardonnay aged in barrel. Our winemaker Paul Clifton selected the barrels he felt best expressed the aromas, flavors and texture of the Santa Lucia Highlands.
SENSORY EVALUATION
Hahn SLH Chardonnay is rich and layered, with silky notes of citrus orange,
honeysuckle, caramel, and vanilla with hints of stoney minerality.