2015 CHARDONNAY STA. RITA HILLS, SANTA BARBARA TASTING NOTES: The grapes for our fruit forward 2015 Chardonnay are sourced from the cool, coastally influenced Santa Rita Hills AVA in Santa Barbara. Aged in neutral French oak barrels, the wine takes on subtle characteristics from the oak while also retaining a bright finish. Fragrant aromas of tropical fruit, citrus, and vanilla delight the nose and vibrant ripe apple and pineapple flavors create a wine with silky texture and nice energy. The crisp acid in our Chardonnay provides balance within the rich palate. THE VINEYARD: The Sta. Rita Hills AVA in Santa Barbara County is one of California’s premier cool-climate AVAs. It is also one of California’s smaller AVAs with 99% of its territory falling within the larger Santa Ynez Valley AVA. Intersected by the Santa Ynez River, this picturesque region is located between the towns of Buellton and Lompoc in Santa Barbara County. The 52-acre Courtney’s Vineyard is a hillside property that features limestone-based soil and is a cool, coastally-influenced site. WINEMAKING: Our team harvested the grapes for the 2015 vintage on September 2nd and immediately whole-cluster pressed them to a settling tank. A! er settling, the lot was barreled down to neutral French oak barrels. The barrels were kept cool to ensure a slow fermentation to preserve flavors. Primary fermentation finished in mid-October of 2015. The barrels were then inoculated with malolactic bacteria, and conversion took place slowly over the next few months. Barrels were stirred regularly during this time to suspend the lees and improve texture. Appellation: Sta. Rita Hills Harvest Date: 09/02/2015 Vineyard: Courtney’s Vineyard Harvest Brics: 23.9 Production: 300 Bottles Bottling Date: 03/22/2017 Composition: Alcohol: 14.1% 99.5% Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay pH : 3.5 0.5% Viognier Total Acidity (TA): 6.9 g/L WWW.ILLANTAWINES.COM.