Amista 2021 Cristalina Chardonnay
Stop and smell the flowers! Delicate white peach, lemon and peach blossom. Then treat yourself to a sip of the bright, bracing character of lemon zest followed by beautiful minerality on the finish. This Chardonnay was fermented and aged in a concrete egg, which accentuates the minerality from the rocky riverbed soils in our estate vineyards.
181 cases made
100% Chardonnay, hand harvested
Morningsong Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley
Healdsburg, California, in the heart of Sonoma County wine country
In Stock
Wine Specs
Vintage
2021
Varietal
Chardonnay
Appellation
Dry Creek Valley
Vineyard Designation
Morningsong Vineyards
Harvest Date
August 23, 2021
Sugar
22.3
Acid
6.5
pH
3.39
Aging
8 months in concrete egg followed by 2 months in stainless steel
Bottling Date
July 8, 2022
Alcohol %
13.5
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
This wine starts with beautiful aromatics of white flowers, delicate white peach, lemon zest and peach blossom. The palate leads with a bright mouthfeel with lemon curd notes and great minerality from the concrete on the finish. This is such a fun wine and shows the beauty and simplicity of the concrete fermentation.
Vineyard Notes
2021 was a beautiful vintage. The winter was quite dry with far lower than average rainfalls but we had a few spring rains that helped us out. The growing season was warm but very even and without any adverse weather events. We picked slightly earlier than average but because of the very small crop this vintage, flavors are intense and concentrated.
Production Notes
We are so excited to present our first concrete tank fermented and aged Chardonnay. After picking and whole cluster pressing, the juice was moved into a concrete egg for indigenous fermentation. The shape of the egg allowed for natural mixing to occur within the wine which gave great fermentation kinetics. After fermentation, the tank was topped up and then stored for 8 months. At 8 months, we racked the wine off primary lees to a stainless steel tank to rest for 8 weeks before bottling.
Winemaker Notes
This comes from our Morningsong Estate Vineyard Clone 4 Chardonnay. We picked this earlier than our pick for our other block of chardonnay in order to maintain the natural acidity and encourage the minerality to persist.
Food Pairing Notes
This wine compliments foods with salinity very well such as gravlax, oysters, ceviche or an aged parmesan.
Production
181 cases made