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2000 Maison Grand Cru Chardonnay |
 Rutz
Cellars Maison Grand Cru designation represents the best blend
of the vintage from select Chardonnay vineyards. The 2000
vintage produced outstanding fruit from all of our vineyard
sources, including the Dutton Ranch vineyard, which represents
the greatest part of this blend. This 100% Russian River wine
was assembled from nine separately-handled wine lots using four
different yeast strains. All of the lots were cold settled for
24 hours at 50F or below, before being moved to 100% French oak
barrels for fermentation in the optimal temperature and humidity
provided by the Rutz Cellars cave.
After primary fermentation, all of the lots went through
complete malolactic fermentation. Aged on the lees and
hand-stirred every two weeks, the blend was assembled in March,
2001. It was then put back to barrel for an additional five
months of aging, still on the lees, and hand-stirred every two
weeks until being bottled in August of 2001.
Honeyed gold in appearance. Aromas of peaches and ripe pears predominate, balanced with subtle French oak. Flavors are very full and rich, with a substantial middle body and an extremely long finish. The acid structure is definitely in the foreground, but is nicely balanced by the fruit. Harvest Dates – October 13 – 20 pH – 3.70 Alcohol – 13.7% Total Acid – 0.610g/100ml Cases Produced – 2165 |