Conner Lee Vineyard is a cool site in a warm sunny region. In our Eastern Washington desert environment, the spring and fall nights can be 50 degrees cooler than the day temperatures (on Radar Hill south of Othello, Washington). The hot 90 degree summer ripens the fruit, while the fall temperatures keep the acids high and the pH low. The Conner Lee Vineyard 1989 block and the 2005 clone #95 block were both planted with ungrafted vines in well drained sandy-silt soils. The vineyard has been certified Salmon Safe since 2008.
Planning our wine from the start, we cane pruned in February, then shoot thinned in May, cluster thinned at verasion to promote concentration in the fruit early in the year. The shaded fruit and small crop support the elegance and concentration in our wine even in the coolest vintage in 30 years.
The June 21st flowering was late and afforded us a ripe harvest on Sept 29th at dawn. We finished harvest 3 days later with the clone #95 chardonnay. The block ‘89 was classically ripe 23.2 and clone #95 was 21.5 brix, with pHs of 3.2 and organic acids of 10g/L. We hand sorted clusters and then both whole cluster pressed some and crushed the other blocks of chardonnay by a unique method I designed to allow for greater extraction and texture in the wine. The raw juice fermented in mature Burgundy barrels and was lees stirred with partial malolactic. We do not alter the juice with finings or additions of acid or water. Instead, we grow our fruit to balance the natural juice acids so that our wine needs no additions. This rich and vibrant, acidic and silky style is the hallmark of our chardonnay.
We bottled on July 20, 2011. Buty white wines are naturally heat and cold stable between 45F to 90F. Crystalline sediments may develop if stored cooler. We believe this wine is ideally served at 50F, where after it can warm up during the meal.

The nose is attractive and ripe, made of clean stone fruit flavors and vibrant citrus notes. The silky texture and the long, crisp, fruit-filled finish complete our wine, un-obscured by oak. It is young at release and will open and taste best over the next three years.

"This is one of the stars of the vintage in 2010; the conner Lee fruit is rich and fully ripe, with a pleasingly candied aspect. YET it remains lively with bracing acids, citrus and apple, and highlights of toasted nuts and caramel. A big, grin-inducing wine that is virtually irresistible"
- Wine Enthusiast (July 2012), 93 pts + Editor's Choice