19.99 $28.00 29%

Retail Savings $19.99 $28.00 29% 2012 Iron Horse Unoaked Chardonnayproduct-timed-pdf - Russian River Valley *First Access - New Release | Member Exclusive Value Why We're Drinking It From California's golden vintage, the year that made vintners in France green with envy, comes this brand new release of the estate-bottled 2012 Iron Horse Unoaked Chardonnay. A pioneer in the Green Valley appellation within the Russian River area of Sonoma County, the Iron Horse family graciously gave us a limited allocation to share with invino members before it goes to market. Snap it up while it's fresh, before Wine Enthusiast gives it another 90+ point rating like the last four vintages and everyone else is clamoring to get their hands on it! Four reasons we love it: • Celebrated Winemaker: David Munksgard’s wines are expressive, stylish, highly nuanced, bright, focused, soft and silky. Above all, he says he strives for exquisite balance in his wines. Tongue in cheek, he commented “Our style is not ‘knock your socks off’ wines. We prefer to glide your socks off.” • Golden Vintage: 2012 was a text book perfect "golden" vintage resulting in an elegant, polished, bright, balanced and silky chardonnay. All of the UnOaked Chardonnay had at least one hour of skin contact in the press to control acidity, to avoid fruit reducing malolactic fermentation, and to extract bright aromatic and flavor compounds. David then followed with a cold stainless steel fermentation (between 60-63F) to retain esters, i.e. brightness, minerality, and exotic fruit elements. • Game Time Decision: The team at Iron Horse waits until harvest to decide whether to make sparkling or still, as the only difference is the brix level (or the amount of sugar in the grapes, less for sparklings, more for still). Considering berry size (bigger is better for sparklings, smaller for still), the health of the canopy, clone selection, and even small details such as the relative dampness of the cover crop can make a difference. If necessary, parts of the same block may be picked on different days. • Russian River Valley Hidden Gem: The Green Valley AVA of Northern Sonoma County is located in the south-western corner of the prestigious Russian River Valley AVA. Lower lying and closer to San Francisco Bay than the rest of Russian River, Green Valley has a slightly cooler climate: the fog that rolls up the valleys refreshes the vineyards with cool, moist air, juuuust the way Chardonnay grapes like it! INSIDE FACT: In the arena of Sparkling Wines, Iron Horse stands at the top.The wines have been served at the White House for the past five consecutive presidential administrations, beginning with the historic Reagan-Gorbachev Summit Meetings, which lead to the end of the Cold War. The winery is proud to produce a limited number of special cuvees for Charlie Palmer, Michael Mina, Bradley Ogden, Commander's Palace, and Disney. Tasting Notes VARIETAL The UnOaked Chardonnay is a pure expression of cool, foggy Green Valley. Chardonnay The body and texture are amazing. The wine is remarkably rich and elegant. APPELLATION Aromas of ripe fruits, with flavors of baked pear and grapefruit and citrus. On Green Valley of Russian River Valley, the nose, green apple, mandarin orange and a hint of lime. This is our eigth Sonoma, California vintage of making UnOaked. They are worth holding onto as they age so ALCOHOL beautifully. 13.50 SIZE 750ml PH 3.0000 TA 64.0000 BLEND Chardonnay AGING/COOPERAGE None The Story to Know Iron Horse is one of Sonoma County's most beautiful, small, independent, estate, family owned wineries located in cool, foggy Green Valley. The founding partners, Audrey and Barry Sterlingfirst saw it in the pouring rain in February 1976. Driving down Ross Station Road, they were sure they were lost until they crested the knoll and the view opened up to 300 acres of gentle rolling hills and a wall of trees behind that looked like Camelot to them. Incurable romantics, and having extraordinary vision, they bought the property in just two weeks. In those days, Iron Horse was the most westerly vineyard in Sonoma County. Even the agricultural extension agents from US Davis recommended they look further east as this vineyard was prone to frost as late as June 1st, well after bud-break, and jeopardizing the crop. But having lived in France, the Sterlings knew the cool, foggy climate was exactly what they were looking for to grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. And, as a native San Franciscan, Audrey Sterling had spent part of her summers on the Russian River and was familiar with the area. There were 110 acres in vine at the time, originally planted by Forrest Tancer when he was working for Rodney Strong. Forrest and the Sterlings became partners, upgraded the vineyard, engineered an elaborate frost protection system, built the winery and produced their first vintage of Estate Chardonnay in 1978. The winery officially opened in 1979 with the first vintage of Estate Pinot Noir on Barry Sterling's 50th birthday. The first vintage for the Sparkling Wines was 1980. The name Iron Horse came from a train that stopped at Ross Station at the turn of the 20th Century. The logo, the rampant horse on a weathervane, came from an actual weathervane that was unearthed when they were leveling the ground to build the winery. Iron Horse is truly a family affair. Audrey and Barry's daughter Joy Sterling is the CEO and lives at the foot of the vineyard. The Sterlings' son Laurence, his wife Terry and their children moved to Iron Horse in 1990 and built their home on the far southwest corner of the property. Laurence is Director of Operations. Audrey and Barry are retired, but still reside at the heart of the estate in the original Victorian built in 1876. Forrest Tancer retired in 2005. Iron Horse is located in Green Valley in the coolest, foggiest part of the Russian River Valley, just 13 miles from the Pacific as the crow flies. There are approximately 160 acres in vine, planted exclusively to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir - with gentle, rolling hills, and a spectacular view from the winery clear across Sonoma County to Mount St. Helena. The predominant soil type is Goldridge, a sandy loam that has excellent drainage and is perfectly neutral, making it the most sought after soil type in Sonoma County, especially for Pinot Noir. While the Iron Horse family has been a highly acclaimed pioneer in the Green Valley appellation within the Russian River area of Sonoma County, our viticultural knowledge has advanced exponentially from what we knew when the original 110 acres were planted in the early 1970’s. Today we are engaged in what's called ‘precision viticulture’ under the guidance of the leading expert, Daniel Roberts, PhD a/k/a Dr. Dirt. We no longer see one vineyard, instead, the property has been divided into 39 specific blocks, which are harvested separately and then vinified as if each block was a ‘single vineyard’ - each having been planted with site appropriate root-stock, Pinot Noir or Chardonnay and clone selections. All pruning, canopy management, irrigation, and cover crop decisions are determined on a block-by-block (and sometimes even vine-by-vine) basis, considering both the vintage at hand and the long-term needs of the land. The goal is to manage variability, and in end, make better wines, be they still or sparkling. As of May 2013 we will have completed our replanting efforts, a significant undertaking. We started in October 2004; over the years we dug about 220 soil pits; pulled out 82 acres of vines that had been planted in the early 70’s; then planted and budded about 121,600 vines (meaning 121,600 pencil rods, preceded by 121,600 drinking straws) and had to install over 410 miles of wire. In the process we totally reconceived how we grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Perfect Pairings This is a great vegetable wine. In summer, we love to take a bottle out to the tomato patch. Think simple, clean flavors like smoked trout and warm fingerling potato salad with capers. Also serve as a perfect counter balance to rich and creamy dishes - a seafood risotto or cracked Dungeness crab with drawn butter. Ratings 93 Insider Points Past Pedigree 2011: 90 Points -Wine Enthusiast 2010: 92 Points -Wine Enthusiast 2009: 91 Points -Wine & Spirits, 92 Points -Wine Enthusiast 2008: 90 Points -Wine Enthusiast Reviews Fresh and clean, with a creamy texture, this brand new release from Iron Horse is a great example of Unaltered Russian River Chardonnay. Aromas of waxy lemon, apple blossom and apricot, with a subtle minerality. The palate is crisp and dry with flavors of green apple lime juice and nectarine. The texture really stands out, coating the palate and popping with bright acidity. A very well made wine from a house that specializes in bubbles. Drink now through 2017. - DZ Steven Heimoff said of the 2008 vintage, " There is no oak in this Chardonnay, but it is so rich you don't even notice. It's all pure, ripe, pineapple, range and lime fruit, accompanied by tart, clean Green Valley acidity. Tremendously versatile with food.".

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