YOUNGS MARKET® Robert Craig – 6045353967775

Notes from the Winemaker:

It takes less than an hour to drive from our Napa Tasting Salon to Tomales Bay, where the finest oysters in the world make their home. It takes only 5 minutes for us to walk to The Hog Island Oyster Bar in the Oxbow Market to get our fix. A big, buttery, low acid, oaked-up Chardonnay would not be a fit at all for such delicate, complex fare. At Robert Craig Winery we strive every year to make a white wine worthy of comparison with the finest in the world. Racy, mineral laden, structured, precise and focused would be apt descriptors for our first release of Gap’s Crown Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2013 vintage. No malo, no problem. Oysters beware.

Vineyard Notes:
Like the Durell Vineyard, where we made lovely Chardonnay in a similar style in past vintages, Gap’s Crown Vineyard is owned by wine mogul (and all around good guy) Bill Price. We simply traded our contract for Durell fruit to one for Gap’s Crown fruit in the same quantity. The 138-acre Gap’s Crown Vineyard is situated on the Southern end of Sonoma Mountain on the west side. It is a hillside vineyard with extremely stony soils and low yields. Known as The Petaluma Gap, this area is a fog and breeze pocket that is unique in the Sonoma Coast. Cool temperatures, low pH values and high natural acidity produce wines of stunning vibrancy. We will miss our Durell offering, but Gap’s Crown Vineyard will allow us to make the wine we have dreamed of.

Production Notes:
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers alike in the Sonoma Coast AVA are claiming that 2013 is one of their best vintages in the last several decades. A long, even growing season with a slightly elevated yield allowed the wines to be fully formed in the vineyard. Our Gap’s Crown Chardonnay is characterized by its focus, minerality, and bright, tightly wound structure. The citrus, orange peel, lemon zest pour from the glass. A great wine from a perfect year.