On The Dinner Table

Last week on the dinner table we sent our members a value Chardonnay that has posted monster numbers on the Robert Parker's wine rating. The 2008 Russian River Valley Chard put out by Frei Brothers Reserve has earned its place on the prestigious Dinner Table write up.

I think it's smart for us to give you some context about the Frei Brother Winery background. In the late 1880's, an enterprising Swiss immigrant by the name of Andrew Frei gazed upon the rolling hills, gentle streams, and fertile soil of northern Sonoma and saw a wineglass full of opportunity. He wasn't the first to have had such a vision. In 1885, a gold miner named Charles Dunz traded in his pickaxe for a plow at the age of 70 and purchased 344 acres of prime real estate in Sonoma county. After four years of hard work clearing the land, Dunz had an impressive vineyard that boasted grape varieties such as Zinfandel, Mataro, and Riesling. However, Dunz' health went into decline. In 1890, he sold his holdings to Andrew Frei, helping to give birth to a winemaking tradition that is very much alive today.

The signature cooling maritime influences of the Russian River Valley serve to balance its warm days with cool, refreshing evenings and fog-cloaked mornings. This unique microclimate allows for the slow and even maturation of our fruit, developing distinct flavors in our wines which reflect this great Sonoma terroir. The challenging 2008 growing season began with unusually dry weather in late winter and spring with unexpected frost in late April. As the vines were beginning to bloom in May, an extended heat wave set a smaller crop than normal in the vineyards. However, the end of spring and the summer months were typically moderate and warm with few heat spikes, which provided perfect conditions for the ripening of our Chardonnay grapes. Harvest began for Frei Brothers earlier than usual in August and picking rapidly increased as a heat wave in early September caused wine grapes to quickly ripen. The weather cooled in late September and harvest was complete by the end of October with minimal challenges. Yields were lower than previous vintages, but the result was fruit of excellent quality with intensity and depth.

Please send your input of with your taste, smell, and dinner experiences via my email!

Judson Koehn
Email

In Short: It's a damn good Chard. Members we spoiled you last week!

• Point Average ~ 89/100
• Vintage ~ 2008
• Vineyard ~ Frei Brothers
• Country of Origin ~ United States
• Appellation ~Russian River Valley
• Titratable Acidity: ~ 0.51
• Residual Sugar ~ 0.4
• pH ~ 3.4
• Alcohol Level ~ 13.78