The two Chardonnay vineyards that produced most of the grapes for this wine are some of the oldest in Anderson Valley. Our neighbor, Valley Foothills Vineyard, is responsible for almost two thirds of this cuvée produced from their K2 block planted in 1978. Most of the balance is from the oldest section of Navarro's Hammer Olsen Block planted in 1983. Both fields were planted using budwood purchased from the Robert Young vineyard in Sonoma. The Robert Young "clone" was the Chardonnay budwood of choice in the North Coast during this era because the tiny berries delivered excellent quality wine. In reality, the Robert Young "clone" was a field selection until UC Davis cleaned up the budwood and released it later as FPMS clone 17R. Phylloxera and age have reduced production significantly, so these fields are scheduled for replanting in 2016 & 2017. The grapes were destemmed, pressed and the juice transferred to stainless steel tanks to ferment in temperature controlled conditions as individual lots.

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