Destino 2004 Russian River Chardonnay is a big complex wine. It is elegant but shows intense concentration of fruit. The wine delivers ripe notes of vanilla, pear, fig, and butterscotch. The Russian River vineyards, Dutton Ranch and Ritchie Vineyards, combine to form the complex Chardonnay. The Dutton Vineyard “Sullivan Road” is a cool site in Green Valley near the town of Graton. Warren Dutton planted this site in the early 70’s in what appears to be “Old Wente” clone. It delivers wines of powerful, forward fruit with good body.____________ Ritchie Vineyards is a hillside site. Its soils are varied in depth; the topsoil is light, almost powdery. Underneath are outcroppings of volcanic ash. The soils are very well drained with moderate to low vigor in the vines. The Destino block was planted in 1974 to a mixed clonal selection. It includes at least two distinct clones One is a "musque" clone of Chardonnay, possessing elegant perfumed aromatics. The others look similar to the highly regarded "Old Wente" Clone Chardonnay, with its small clusters and mixed "hens and chicks" berry sizes. ____________ The grapes were picked at peak ripeness: 24.5 Brix in this vintage. Pressing was done as whole clusters, utilizing a membrane press to gently dejuice the grapes without breakage of skins, seeds, or stems. The juice was settled for 36 hours and racked to barrel for 100% barrel fermentation. Fermentation was conducted at approximately 55° F to promote a long, slow development of the fruit. Three distinctive yeasts, two isolates from Burgundian cellars and another from Champagne, were used to add complexity. Upon completion of primary fermentation, the barrels were stirred weekly to promote the breakdown of the yeasts adding additional layers of complexity as well as enhancing the creamy texture of the wine. Malolactic fermentation started at the completion of primary fermentation and continued through February. The wine was aged surlies for 16 months in barrel. This extra time allowed the slowly developing fruit to emerge and further enhance the richness and structure.