2005 De La Guerra Chardonnay

Purchase 2005 De La Guerra Chardonnay

The Story
In celebration of the early years of our family’s winemaking history, HdV introduces the de la Guerra series of wine. In the early 19th century, family patriarch Don Jose de la Guerra y Noriega, also known as “El Gran Capitan,” built the adobe “Casa de la Guerra” in Santa Barbara, California. The “casa” served as the social, cultural and political epicenter of Santa Barbara throughout the early 1800’s. While hosting legendary fiestas, the de la Guerra family began making wines which would eventually receive a gold medal at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Fair. We celebrate these early years of our family’s winemaking tradition with the 2005 de la Guerra Chardonnay.

Philosophy
Though we pay homage to our California ancestry with the de la Guerra name, the philosophy remains true to HdV. Our winemaking is bound to the vineyard’s characteristics. We are in constant search of wines that represent the Hyde Vineyard terroir as expressed by our Burgundian techniques: The winemaker is a “vigneron” using minimal intervention winemaking, as well as the gentlest handling of the fruit. Vigneron’s Notes
The 2005 vintage in Los Carneros was cool and slow-paced. After an early budbreak in the middle of March, Hyde Vineyards experienced wet weather in May and June. Summer also consisted of cool weather thanks to the San Pablo Bay fog influence, a blessing for Chardonnay. From maturation through harvest, days were sunny and mild, allowing Chardonnay flavors to develop gradually with pronounced acidity and lower alcohol.

Produced from Chardonnay vines from Hyde Vineyards, ranging in age from 9 to 11 years, de la Guerra is an expression of the impact that vine age has on terroir. These younger vines were selected over the years from our finest clonal selections. Grafted on low vigor rootstocks with denser spacing, the grapes are hand- picked and pressed on a soft and long press cycle. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel, a “foudre,” and a judicious amount of new oak barrels. Aged for 8 months, the various components are blended and bottled without filtration.

The 2005 de la Guerra Chardonnay presents a strong core of acid supplemented with a vibrant mix of grapefruit, apricot, vanilla and mineral notes. These same aromas and flavors link to each other in a bright, citrus finish.

Purchase 2005 De La Guerra Chardonnay